Till The End of the Line
by mischiefandfaith
Summary: Steve, Alice & Bucky have always been best friends, but Bucky has always liked Alice as more. When Erskine develops the formula to create super soldiers, and needs a female to test it on Alice is chosen. 70 years after she gives up her life along with Steve, she is found and as she begins to adjust to her new life, someone from her past shows up when she least expects it. Bucky/OC
1. Chapter 1: The First Avenger

She heard it before she saw it, the sounds of someone being thrown against the wall and then his voice, right inside the alley.

"You just don't wanna give up, do you?" a gruff, male voice spoke.

"I could do this all day," he answered to whoever it was that had spoken before.

Worry overclouded her better judgement as she rushed in there, grabbing the back of the man's jacket and shoving him as far away as she could.

The man wiped his mouth and looked up, chuckling when she saw her.

"Listen, sweetie," the man began, "you have no-"

"No, you listen," she snapped, "get the hell away from here and I won't kick your ass."

"What, like you could do it?" he laughed, taking a step towards her, "perhaps beating one kid who thinks to highly of himself isn't enough."

She took a step back and then used it to kick him in the stomach, and just as he doubled over, she kneed him in the groin. After groaning, he straightened up a bit, looking as if he was going to punch her, she swung her arm towards him and punched him square in the jaw.

"Fuck off," she threatened, grabbing his collar before pushing him off her as he ran out of the alleyway.

"I was handling that," Steve complained, standing up.

"I know, but we have somewhere to be," she replied, putting an arm around him, "and this would've taken longer without me."

"Where're we going?" he asked.

"It's May's party tonight!" she exclaimed, "remember the part where I told you I needed someone to go with?"

"Didn't Jamie ask you?"

"Didn't Jamie beat you up last month?"

They laughed as they walked out, walking along the sidewalk, joking around for a while until Steve saw another one of those posters. He sighed and shook his head, turning around.

"Did you try again?"

He nodded.

"Come on, soldier," she smiled, "let's go get dressed up. You've got another type of war tonight. It's us against the world," she joked.

**oOo**

"Alice!" her mother called from the living room, "Steve's here to pick you up!"

"I'll be right there!" she replied, fixing the creases on her dress before putting her book away and standing up, rushing down the stairs.

"It's a wonder why you prefer this boy to that sargeant who's always sneaking around," she said, fixing her necklace, before patting my shoulder, "he's a tad bit… taller," she scrunched her nose.

"Goodnight, mom," she answered, rolling her eyes and walking out the front door where Steve was waiting, standing next to a car.

"You got us a ride?" she joked, "how fancy!"

He chuckled, just as someone rolled down the window.

"It's actually my car," Bucky said, smirking at her.

"What a shame," Alice smiled, getting into the backseat next to Steve.

"I'm Clara," the girl sitting next to Bucky said, "I'm his date," she giggled.

"I'm Alice," she replied.

Clara giggled again, tidying her hair up. Bucky started driving along the streets, until they arrived at the party.

When Alice got out of the car, Bucky was standing there, smiling down at her.

"Make sure to save a dance for me," he said, smiling.

She smiled back, looking at Steve who was fixing his tie.

"I'm with Steve tonight," she answered, "besides, I doubt Clara would want to share her date."

"Come on guys, let's go inside!" Clara called, "you can talk with Bucky as soon as I get bored!"

"If you get bored," Bucky whispered, "we can dance."  
"I've been taking Steve everywhere since prom," she whispers back, "do you think I'd do that if he bored me?"

He laughs and straightens up, as they walk into the party. Steve takes her hand for comfort, even though they're not dating. Honestly, she didn't mind people thinking they were together, unlike Steve. He thought she'd be embarressed if people thought that.

"Do you wanna get some food?" Steve asked.

"Sure," they headed towards the tables filled with different foods, and they each took a glass of punch and a cookie.

After swallowing it down, and a few jokes, they decided to dance. She laughed when he stepped on her foot, as usual on the right one and then everything went smoothly. Practice makes perfect.

She laughed and turned around to see Bucky looking at her, the ghost of a smile present on his face. She waved, and he blinked twice, then smiling widely and waving back, before dragging Clara over.

"Why'd we stop?" Clara asked, before seeing Steve and Alice.

"Just taking a break," Bucky answered.

"But I'm not tired," she whined.

Bucky chuckled and spun her around, before she landed on his chest, and launched into a fit of giggles.

"I want orange juice," Alice suddenly blurted.

Steve and Bucky laughed, giving her looks, while Clara stared blankly at her, confused.

"What?" Steve managed between laughs.

"I'll get you some orange juice tomorrow," Bucky smirked, shaking his head.

Steve quickly tired of dancing, and Alice followed him to a table where they sat down. Clara and Bucky kept dancing, and Bucky wondered if he'd ever get that dance.

**oOo**

The next morning Alice woke up to the sound of her neighbor playing the flute, the usual morning song that served as a wake up call to her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Blanchard," Alice muttered, getting out of bed.

She took what only she would call a 'quick' shower and grabbed a casual dress for work, and placing her wallet inside a bag, before rushing downstairs.

"It's a bit late, sweetheart," her mother said, "I made you breakfast."

Alice grabbed the cup of milk along with the buttered toast with strawberry jam and ate it quickly, throwing the crumbs under the table where one of her mother's cats was sure to eat them.

"I might be going out with Stevie after work, mom," Alice called, already halfway out the door.

"That's fine," her mother replied, and then the door closed shut.

She walked to work, as usual, arriving just before her shift started.

"Good morning, Alice," her boss, the owner of the bakery, Mr. Wilson said.

"Second week without any tardiness, boss," she smiled, "I think I'm getting good at this."

He laughed and she put on her apron, placing her purse on the rack behind the counter.

"You were late this Saturday," he protested.

"Saturdays don't count, I refuse to believe that," she denied.

"As you wish," he smiled.

She stood behind the register, like every Tuesday and Thursday, and ordered all the money that was out of place while waiting for the bakery to open.

Soon, customers arrived, ordering different things for breakfast, while she recommended the new brownies Iris had just learned to bake, which Mr. Wilson wanted the world to taste.

"That'll be 5.99," she spoke, noticing Steve and Bucky walking in and waving at her. She smiled and looked down, taking a penny of change for the woman who had just finished ordering and handing it to her as she took it.

"Good morning, ma'am," Bucky said in a serious tone, "I'd like some coffee. And the best thing you have which contains chocolate."

Steve laughed, and Alice wrote the order down on the notepad.

"Anything for you, mister?" she asked Steve.

"A strawberry muffin, please," he replied, "and coffee."

"Also, ma'am," Bucky began, "by any chance do you have any orange juice? Our friend has been craving some."

"Well, what a strange friend you have there," she said, "sorry. We're all out."  
"What a shame," he muttered.

They all laughed and she took the order to Linda and Belle and they prepared everything while Alice began taking the next order, Bucky and Steve still standing next to her.

Steve sat down on a booth, Bucky following quickly and sitting besides him, looking at the printed advert of Iris Brown's brownies.

"Do you think she'd go out with me?" he asked Steve.

"Iris?" Steve asked, "duh."

Bucky playfully shoved his shoulder, pointing discreetly at Alice.

"I meant _her," _he whispered.

"Who?" Steve asked, trying to look over Alice's shoulder.

"Alice!" Bucky exclaimed.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Oh…"

"Oh, what?"

"Alice?"

"Yes."

"Our Alice? Alice, _Alice_?"

"I am beginning to worry about your overall sense of comprehension," Bucky quirked his eyebrow.

"Why do you wanna ask her out?" Steve asked casually, looking down at his interwined hands.

Bucky gave him a look like he was the dumbest person he'd ever met.

"You know why," Bucky said. Steve looked clueless, as he shook his head slowly.

"You mean.. you never noticed?" Bucky asked, confused. He always thought Steve knew he liked her.

He just assumed Steve knew everything about him, as well as everything about her. He wondered if they needed to work on their communication.

"Yes," Steve finally sighed.

"Huh?" Bucky asked, too lost in his thoughts.

"She'd say yes," Steve declared, "eventually."

Bucky laughed, and they went back to joking around. There was an air of worry in Steve's face, as he wondered what he would do without her. If Bucky dated her, who would he go everywhere with? Who would save his sorry ass when he most needed it? Who would understand him like they did? He couldn't loose his two best friends in the world.

"I don't think she'd say yes," Bucky said after a while, out of nowhere.

Steve was about to reassure him, even though he knew if Bucky had one thing, it was self-confidence. Definetely, he had never needed assurance to ask a girl out. But something stopped him, preventing him from encouraging his friend. Maybe it was the worry that he'd lose them, or just plain old jealousy that the only girl that had ever given him a chance wouldn't be his anymore. Whatever it was, he regretted what ge said then as soon as he said it.

"You're probably right," Steve said, "she's never seemed like she thought like that of you."

Bucky nodded, and flashed a fake smile at Steve, while Alice saw and wondered what they were talking about, and why they looked so upset, and just assumed it was because of Steve's fifth try to enlist.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm not bluffing, Bucky!" she shouted, "put me down!"

Steve laughed as he sat down in the shade of the tree, looking at Bucky carrying Alice on his back.

"I will stab you!"

"You love me too much to do that," he joked, finally setting her down in front of him.

"That was absolutely unnecessary," she remarked, sitting down with a soft pout on her lips.

"You'd think so," he said, sitting down besides her.

"All for me to agree to some stupid fair," she complained, "like I'd miss it in the end anyway."  
Steve laughed, eating another handful of grapes.

"It was my reward," he said, "for the orange juice!"

"What type of reward is that?" she exclaimed.

"Fine then," he said, "give me a kiss."  
Steve coughed on the grape he was chewing and Alice almost laughed, were it not for the fact he had just asked her for a kiss.

"Okay," she smirked inwardly to herself.

"Really?" his eyes widened.

"Close your eyes," she nodded.

He laughed and closed his eyes, while Steve eyebrows furrowed. Alice took a handful of mud from the ground and smeared it on his lips.

Bucky gasped, opening his eyes and wiping his mouth.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that," he said, and she squealed and stood up, running away, while he chased her down and pinned her up against a tree.

She swallowed and he laughed.

"I doubt now would be the best time to kiss," she said, pointing to his lips, full of dirt.

He groaned and she laughed, kissing his cheek and making him blush slightly, which the mud was hiding well.

"Enough?"

He smiled to himself.

"Quite enough, indeed."

"Good… because that's all you're gonna get," she finished, running back to Steve who had just let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't healthy to worry like that over things that before had seemed so simple.

**oOo**

She hummed to herself while walking towards the bakery, her purse clanging against her hips. She had asked to leave early in order to attend to an event Bucky had insisted they all go to, which he said was some sort of exposition about the future. Dancing included later.

She was lying, even to herself, as she thought about how she didn't want to dance with Bucky tonight, or any other night for that matter, but she couldn't admit it to anyone, not even herself.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size," she heard, coming from inside an alley, just as someone ran out of there, passing by her quickly.

She peeked inside, and sure enough Steve and Bucky were there.

"Sometimes I think you like getting punched," Bucky helped Steve stand.

"I had him on the ropes," Steve replied.

Bucky grabbed the enlistment form from Steve.

"How many times is this?" he asked, looking at it, "oh, so you're from Paramus now? You know it's illegal to lie on your enlistment form."

"You get your orders?" Steve asked, noticing Bucky's uniform.

"Already?" Alice spoke for the first time, and Bucky turned to see her, giving her a smile and then a half-sad look.

"Sargeant James Barnes," he smiled, "shipping out to England first thing tomorrow."

"So soon?" she asked, suddenly feeling something creeping up from the pit of her stomach, making her uneasy.

"It's my last night," he smiled, "so we better get cleaned off."  
"Why, where are we going?" Steve asked.

"To the future," Bucky showed us the newspaper annoucing the exhibit.

Steve looked sadly down.

"Look, you're about to be the last eligible man in New York," Bucky tried to cheer him up, "I don't see too much of a problem there. There will be a line of women waiting for you."

"I'd give for just one," Steve muttered.

"That has already been arranged," Bucky smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Bucky winked at Alice and she cocked her head.

"Alice is my date tonight," Bucky grabbed her arm, and she jokingly curtsied, "meaning you are about to meet someone new."

Steve groaned and Alice laughed.

"Oh, come on, Rodgers, you need to meet someone else eventually, why not now?"

**oOo**

Alice, Bucky and Steve arrived together, Bucky holding Alice's arm. The lights and music were making everyone jumpy and cheerie. Bucky waved at a pretty blonde woman who ran up to them. Steve and Alice both realised at the same time that was meant to be Steve's date.

"What did you tell her?" Steve asked Bucky in awe.

"Only the good things," he replied, making Alice chuckle.

"Then you told her everything," Alice smiled at Steve.

They walked together towards a stage were a red car stood, more modern than any of the cars they had ever owned so far.

"Ladies and gentleman," a woman spoke from the stage into a microphone, "Mr. Howard Stark!"

The woman onstage introduced tha man who quickly ran in, giving the woman a kiss on the lips after she took his hat, then wiping his mouth.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Stark began, "what if I told you that in just a few short years your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all."

Everyone gasped, and Steve turned to his date.

"Popcorn?" Steve asked her, who gave him a look and shook her head.

"Gladly," Alice answered instead, taking a handful from him, making Steve smile.

She scooted over to make room for Steve to stand besides them and not behind them, and he took his place next to me.

"With Stark technology, you'll be able to do just that," Mr. Stark said, clicking a button after the women took the wheels off the car and smiling at the audience as the car levitated a few inches above the ground.

"Holy cow," Bucky nodded.

The car crashed down suddenly, making everyone jump and laugh.

"I did say a few years, didn't I?" Stark joked.

Alice turned to look at Steve, but he wasn't there. She let go of Bucky's arm, trying to look out for him, when she saw him heading to the enlistment office.

"I'll be right back," she muttered, leaving Bucky with Steve's date.

Bucky looked around confused, and then noticed where Steve was going and started following them himself, telling Steve's date he would be right back.

Steve stood on the same spot another man had just stood, his face supposedly shown in a soldier's uniform, but the top half peeked out.

"Steve," Alice sighed, "come on," she tried pulling him.

He shooked his head.

"You're going in there again?" she asked, "where are you from now? Ohio?"

"Alice-"

"I know this is important to you," she began, "and I won't make you stop trying. I just want you to know that this doesn't define you. The fact that you tried is more than enough, Steve."

"It's not just about trying," he complained, just as Bucky came up to them, "every man is out there fighting! What gives me the right to do any less?"

"You're really gonna do this again?" Bucky asked.

"I'm gonna try my luck," Steve responded.

"As who, Steve from Ohio?" Bucky questioned, and Alice smiled a tiny bit when he said the same thing she had, "they'll catch you. Or worse, they'll actually take you!"

"Look, I know you don't think I can do this," Steve sighed.

"This isn't a back alley, Steve, it's war!"

"Well,-"

"There are so many more things to do, so many important jobs," Bucky protested.

"What am I gonna do, collect scraps in my little red wagon?" Steve snapped.

"Yes," Bucky said.

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky," Steve told him, "Bucky, there are men laying down their lives. I've got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."

"Right," Bucky said sarcastically, "'cause you got nothing to prove."

"Hey, Sargeant," Steve's date spoke suddenly, catching up with them, "are we going dancing?"

"Yes, we are!" Bucky responded animatedly.

"Don't do anything stupid until I get back," Bucky sighed, taking a few steps back.

"How can I?" Steve smirked, "you're taking all the stupid with you."

"You're a punk," Bucky shook his head, as he walked towards Steve, giving him a hug.

"Jerk," Steve patted his back.

"Be careful," Bucky warned, and then turned to Alice, "you coming?"

"You've got Steve's date to dance with, don't wanna add to the mix," Alice smiled.

"Come on," Bucky tried, placing a hand on her back, "you still owe me a dance."

"I'll dance with you as soon as you come back," she said.

Bucky looked down at her, a soft smile on his lips to match hers. His hands were still on her waist, and somewhere deep in her mind she was registering this but was currently too distracted. She could notice Steve's eyes on them, but at the same time everything seemed so far away for a few seconds.

"Take care of each other," Bucky finally said, after a long minute.

"Take care of yourself," Alice responded, taking a step back and tucking her hair behind her ear nervously.

"As soon as I'm back, I'll take you dancing," Bucky smirked, "so don't go getting serious with someone else."

"I wouldn't dare," Alice laughed.

Bucky smiled as he headed off with Steve's date, taking her to dance and silently hoping Alice would wait for him. He hoped with all his heart.

"Don't win the war till I get there," Steve called after him.

Bucky turned around, looking back, and raising one arm in salute to Steve, before going off. Alice looked at Steve, smiling.

"You going in, soldier?" she gave him a little push.

He laughed, wiping his eyes.

"Ohio it is," he answered, "you wanna wait for me so I can walk you home?"

"I wanna wait for you so we can celebrate if you get in," she said, "and to make sure you don't get into any more fights."  
He laughed and headed inside, as she leaned her back against the wall, a sigh escaping her. She closed her eyes, feeling guilty for the part of her that was hoping he wouldn't go. She wanted him to go, because she knew that was what he wanted, but she was also worried to lose him. To lose both of them.

She knew she couldn't go, because females weren't being recruited, but that never stopped her from training in her basement, with what used to be her father's equipment, which now was technically hers (even though her mother didn't know this, of course). If given the chance, she would take it, no matter what, but she knew even trying would be a waste of time. And she knew even if she had the chance, if Steve wasn't in she couldn't take it.

It was a long time, longer than she expected, before Steve walked out with a huge smile on his face. She covered her mouth in surprise, before jumping a litte out of excitement.

"No way!" she exclaimed, "no way, no way, no way!"

She jumped up and down, rushing towards him and hugging him.  
"You're in! You're in, aren't you?" she asked, unable to hide the huge smile on her face.

"I'm in," he smiled, his voice small and full of happiness, "but not the way you'd think it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, putting an arm around him as they walked home together.

"A man," he stuttered, "I don't even know how he knew me.. but he, he seemed to.. admire that I tried so many times. Said maybe we had enough big guys. Maybe we needed a little guy. 1A."

"You're kidding?" she asked, still smiling.

"No!"

She laughed and they walked home. She knew something was bothering her, but decided to ignore it on his behalf, and instead took his hand as they walked, talking animatedly and excitedly along with him, until they arrived at her house.

"You want me to walk you home?" she asked.

"Nah, it's fine," Steve smiled, "I might even get there without getting into a fight."

"I wish the army would've let you join sooner," she joked, and he laughed, before leaning into a hug.

They hugged the way the had only three or four times, like the first time someone called Steve weak, and short and he didn't know how to react. Or the time neither one of them was allowed to join the basketball team, him for being to short and her for being a girl. Or when her father left, taking her brother with him, and leaving her mother to pick up the pieces. Or when his parents died, and neither one of them felt like hugging anyone else. They needed each other.

"Goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight."

Then they each went home, Steve excited about getting into the army, happier than he had been in a long time, and Alice happy for him, and worried for him and Bucky. She tucked herself in bed, after kissing her mother goodnight and then lay there thinking.

She didn't even realise when she started crying, she just suddenly was and she couldn't help it as she wondered if she would ever get a chance herself. As she wondered if her two best friends would be fine. If her only friends would be fine.

"Take care of yourself," she whispered, "and don't win the war until I get there."

**Before anyone asks, no, she won't be in a relationship with Steve. Ever.**

**Sometimes, you have ****_friends _****who you love a lot, and this story isn't just about Bucky (although there will be a lot of that), it's also about the friendship between the three of them, so yeah..**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for reading, especially people who followed or wrote reviews it encourages me a lot.**

**Also (and I will caps lock this so people hopefully read it) THIS STORY WILL FOLLOW BOTH CAPTAIN AMERICA FILMS AND AFTER TOO okay? okay.**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a whole week since she'd last seen Steve, and Bucky of course, and she was seriously considering a suicide pact with her boss, Mr. Wilson, whose son had left home and taken all of his money, when she heard a tap on her bedroom window.

She stood up, wearing her thin nightdress and walked over to the window where a smiling Steve was throwing pebbles. She smiled and motioned towards the door, and she opened it for him quietly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as quietly as she could.

"I have to tell you something," he whispered.

She nodded and they went to the basement, sitting down on the couch that looked towards a broken radio, where her father and his friends used to listen to baseball games.

"Abraham Erskine," he spoke in a normal voice now, safe from her mother's prying ears, "he chose me."

"You mean chose you for the army?" she asked, handing him the glass of water she had been drinking from all this time, seeing as he looked quite tired.

"Well, yes, but he also chose me to be the first," he gulped down some water, "the first in a breed of super soldiers."  
"Super soldiers?" she asked confused, standing up.

"The operation is tomorrow, and I want you to be there," he told her honestly.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed, "I'm nervous, but he chose me. He chose me because of who I am."

"I'd have chosen you, too, Stevie, but do you know if this is safe? What if something bad happens to you?"

He shakes his head, placing the glass of water next to the broken radio.

"It is safe," he assures her, "Dr. Erskine has perfected it. He's sure it's going to work. It's going to work on me."

She nodded.

"I'll be there," she promised.

"Good," he was about to leave, when she cleared her throat.

He turned around and quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Where?"

"Oh!" he laughed, "don't worry about it, I'll pick you up."

**oOo**

Alice put on a simple grey skirt with a button down red blouse tucked in, and strapped her gun to her thigh, hoping no one would notice. She was, after all, going to a place where secret experiments were being conducted, and the last thing she wanted was to get caught in a situation without her handgun, that had once been her brother, Will's.

She had breakfast while waiting for Steve to show up, and left her heels next to the door for when he arrived. The knock came a few minutes later, and she hurried to the door, leaving a note saying she'd be back later for her mother to find.

When she opened the door, after quickly slipping on her shoes, Steve stood there nervously.

"Hey," he said, and motioned to an army vehicle standing behind him.

"Hi," she answered and got in after him.

A woman sat on the other side of Steve, who smiled softly at Alice.

"I'm Peggy Carter," she introduced herself, with a southern English accent, "nice to meet you."

"Alice Winston," she responded, shaking Peggy's outstretched hand.

"Is this the woman you mentioned before?" Peggy asked Steve, making him blush and nod.

"Is he a good dancer?" Peggy asked Alice.

"You couldn't find a better partner," Alice smiled and nudged Steve.

"Then perhaps you'll show me sometime," Peggy said, before stepping out of the car.

They walked towards a store with a sign that read '_Brooklyn Antiques' _in yellow letters. Steve looked strangely at Peggy.

"What are we doing here?" he asked her.

"Follow me," she motioned towards the door and the three of them walked in.

"Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?" an old lady asked, stepping out from the back store.

"Yes, but I was carrying an umbrella," Peggy replied, and the old lady went behind a desk and seemed to press something, then Peggy lead them to the back of the store.

A large bookcase opened up, revealing a long hallway filled with soldiers, after which they walked into a room where scientists and nurses were talking hurriedly and excitedly, but who all quieted down as soon as Steve walked in.

"I told you people noticed you," Alice joked in his ear to ease his nerves.

They walked down, and Steve walked up to a doctor who Alice assumed was Dr. Erskine. Alice looked around, praying to see a familiar face, but noticing only one person she recognized. He would have to do.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," she said, and he turned to see her.

"Hello, pretty woman I've never met before," he responded.

"I'm Alice," she shook his hand, "Alice Winston."

"Howard Stark," he smiled.

She sat down besides him, and he took his seat.

"How long until the procedure, Mr. Stark?" she asked.

"Call me Howard, please," he smiled, "a few minutes at most. Until Mr. Rogers is ready, I suppose."

She smiled and nodded, unsure of how to continue the conversation.

"So, why are you here?" he asked.

"I'm a friend of Steve- I mean, Mr. Rogers," she responded.

"You?" he waved a hand around her, clearly surprised.

"He's always been my best friend," she smiled.

"That's nice," Mr. Stark muttered, "it's good that he has some friends."

"Alice?" Steve called.

She turned around and saw him.

"Sorry," she muttered to Mr. Stark, before heading towards Steve.

"Yeah?" she asked Steve.

"It's about to happen," he whispered nervously, "right now."

"Are you fine with it?" she asked, full of concern, "you're still sure you want to do this?"

He nodded and she smiled at him and gripped his hand.

"It'll be fine, you said so yourself," she reminded him, "I doubt Dr. Erskine would ask you to do this if he weren't sure."

"Of that, you're right," a man with a German accent said behind her, "this is completely safe. You don't need to worry."

"Thank you.." she searched for a name tag, but he didn't have one.

"Abraham Erskine," he shook her hand, "the root of your concerns."

They all laughed, even Steve.

"Are you ready?" he asked Steve.

Steve nodded.

"Good," Dr. Erskine said, "take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat."

Steve began undressing, Peggy looking uncomfortable with the situation but staying next to him nonetheless as he layed down on the machine and began fidgeting and squirming.

"Comfortable?" Dr. Erskine asked him.

"It's a little big," Steve joked, and Dr. Erskine chuckled, "you saved me any shots?"

"Not as much as I should have," confessed the doctor, "sorry. Next time."

"Mr. Stark," Dr. Erskine called, "how are your levels?"

"Levels at one hundred percent," Mr. Stark answered, suddenly next to them.

He winked at Alice as she scooted over for him to talk to Steve.

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready," he said and then smiled at Steve, "it's a nice friend you've got there."

Steve smiled and nodded, looking at Alice instead of Mr. Stark. He looked at her and Peggy for comfort, as if it would help the operation to hurt less.

"Agent Carter, Miss Winston," Dr. Erskine told them, "don't you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?"

"Oh, yes," Peggy sputtered, "sorry."

"Wait, Miss Winston," Dr. Erskine motioned her over.

"Have you ever been in a fight?" the question caught her off guard.

"I've never gotten myself into one, although I've helped Steve," she chuckled.

"You carry a gun with you," he murmured.

"In a place where everyone does, isn't it better to be safe than sorry?"

"Do you actually know how to use one?"

"My brother taught me, it used to be his."

"Have you ever used it?"

"Not on someone, no," she said, "I wouldn't shoot someone unless I had to."

"Good," he smiled, "have you ever wanted to?"

She shook her head.

"Steve told me you would join the army if you could," Dr. Erskine said.

Steve knew? Alice knew she might've mentioned once or twice that the army sounded intriguing but she had never gone into it enough for him to know, unless he'd been trying to know. Steve, for his part, had known just from the look she had when she say recruitment offices. The same look he had.

She nodded, and wondered why Dr. Erskine would bother bringing this up, or why Steve would for that matter.

"Mr. Stark!" he called, "would you come quickly please?"

"Yes, Doctor?" Mr. Stark asked.

"You remember what I told you," Dr. Erskine whispered, "about the formula's third try."

Mr. Stark looked lost for a moment before his eyes widened and he nodded.

"Good," Dr. Erskine said, "because Miss Winston will be needing to know about this. Tomorrow."

"So soon?" Mr. Stark gasped.

Alice was extremely confused, and kept looking from one man to the other hoping either one of them would explain.

"It needs to be as soon as possible," Dr. Erskine convinced him.

"Alright," Mr. Stark fidgeted, "tomorrow it is."

Dr. Erskine nodded.

"Listen, my dear," he told her as soon as Stark left, "the operation being performed on Steve, we need a woman to do it. I was hoping it'd be you."

"Will it make me super-sized?" she asked, honsestly worried she would become all muscle and taller than all the men she knew, especially the one she had in mind.

"No," Dr. Erskine laughed, "it works different on the females. You will have increased strength, speed and agility, but your body will look the same."

She nodded.

"Why?" she asked, although it didn't exactly sound like a bad idea.

He shrugged.

"You will get what you wanted," he reminded her, "you will join the army."

"I'll do it," she finally said.

He smiled widely at her and took her hand in both of his shaking it roughly.

"Great!"

They both headed back towards Steve, who was taking deep breaths trying to calm down. Stark told Alice to sit next to him, away from the machine to be more comfortable, and she did.

"I'm right here," she reminded Steve, "'till the end of the line."

They both smiled at the distant memory of Bucky saying that for the first time, when Alice's father left, and then again when Steve's parents had died. Alice then headed towards Mr. Stark and sat down.

"Do you hear me? Is this on?" Dr. Erskine asked through a microphone, "ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace."

He proceeded to explain how the serum infusion would work, and then injected Steve.

"That wasn't so bad," Steve sighed.

"That was penicilin," Dr. Erskine said, making Alice laugh.

After the countdown, the machine closed around Steve and Stark turned on the magine, slowly reading out the percents to Dr. Erskine until he got to 70% when Steve began to scream.

"Steven!" Dr. Erskine shouted.

"Steve!" Alice cried.

"Shut it down!" Peggy called, rushing down the stairs.

"No!" Steve's voice came from inside, "I can do this!"

They continued until 100%, Peggy and Alice both had worried looks on their faces and Alice was fidgeting nervously with her hands by the time the lights turned off and the machine opened up slowly, to reveal a sweaty but muscular and taller Steve.

Alice rushed to see him exit the machine, as he panted heavily.

"You okay, kid?" she asked.

"I did it," he sighed.

"How'd you feel?" Peggy asked him.

"Taller," he murmured and she nodded and touched his chest, before quickly pulling away.

"You look taller," Peggy stuttered, handing him a towel to dry the sweat off.

Steve turned to Alice.

"I guess you're looking up to me now, huh?" Steve joked.

"I always looked up to you," she smiled.

Suddenly, an explosion from the cabin startled everyone, as the glass rained down on them, everyone looking for cover.

"Stop him!" Dr. Erskine called, after a man took a vial of the serum and ran towards the stairs.

The man shot Dr. Erskine, making Alice gasp and rush towards him, but Steve beat her to it.

"It will," he coughed, "proceed," he told Alice.

She nodded, kneeled down by his side, as Steve was in front of him. Dr Erskine turned towards Steve and pointed his finger at him, tapping it twice on his heart.

"Both of you," he coughed out blood, "remember it."

Alice shook her head, standing up, while Steve's face hardened.

"So that's what guns are for," Alice muttered to herself, quickly taking hers out and running after the man, Peggy behind her. Steve ran after them, no gun in hand, just anger fueling him.

The old lady from the store was trying to shoot the man, but he shot her first. As soon as they walked into the street, people began to scream, noticing the guns and shots. Peggy was about to shoot the car, when the car behind her exploded.

Alice shot the driver in the head, gasping when he fell dead, and the other man ran out of the car into a taxi. Peggy took position and tried shooting, but Steve toppled her.

"I had him!" she shouted.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed before running off after the cab in which the man was now driving.

Alice and Peggy looked at each other confused, before running back inside, where it was complete chaos. Two soldiers were carrying Erskine's body, the general shaking his head and muttering profanities.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Peggy muttered, "none of this."

**oOo**

"I think you got enough," Steve said to the nurse tending to him.

"Any hope of reproducing the program is lost," Peggy told him, "the only serum left has a different structure."

"What does that mean?" Steve asks her, and Peggy looks at Alice.

Alice's eyes widen. She wasn't sure what Steve would think of it.

"I thought he knew," Peggy murmured, "clearly, I was wrong."

"It's alright," Alice reassures her, then turns to Steve, "the serum left.. it is made for females."  
Steve's eyebrows furrow, before he registers why she didn't want him to know.

"You're doing this?" he looks perplexed, "Alice, you can say no!"

"Say no my arse!" Alice snapped, "Dr. Erskine trusted me to do this, and I will."

Steve nodded, saying nothing more.

"When?"  
"Tomorrow morning," Stark said, entering the room.

**I hope you're liking this story, and thank you to everyone who has written a review! They make me feel so encouraged to write more, which is why I do.**

**Someone messaged me privately asking if I wanted any ideas for the story, and while they are greatly appreciated it isn't very likely they will be used, because this story has been mapped out in my head for a while.**

**Bucky will be reapearing quite soon, don't worry! And believe me, as the story progresses, there will be more and more of him.**

**Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing.**


	4. Chapter 4

Alice arrived early at the lab where they were executing the procedure, inside Stark's house, so that no one would come in unnanounced. Alice didn't want to admit it, but she felt like crying about Dr. Erskine, even after having only met him for less than an hour.

"Hello, Alice," Stark said, walking into the room where she was sitting, her blouse and skirt left upstairs in Stark's room, dressed in only her undergarments.

"Mr. Stark," she acknowledged, uncomfortable to be undressed in front of this man.

"Will Steve and Peggy be here?" he asks her.

"I told them not to come," she confessed, "they need to start investigating on Hydra. The last thing they need is to waste time."  
"Time wasted with those you love, hasn't been wasted at all," he muttered.

She stared at her lap, then at the wall, dislking looking at her body for so long, covered in goosebumps from the cold.

"Ah, there we go," he claimed, "it's ready, you may get in."

She did as she was told, getting comfortable in the large machine, that was a dull blue color, unlike Steve's, which had been green.

"Blue is the color of those who are easily conformed," he spoke, "satisfaction is in their nature."

"Sadly, I don't think it is in mine, concerning certain things," she confessed, thinking about nachos.

"Nothing to be sad about," he murmured, injecting the shot of penicilin into her blood stream, making her squirm a little.

Afterwards, the machine closed around her, and she could hear Stark speaking, but it was all blocked out from her head. She couldn't think about anything, except she wanted this to begin and then get over with quickly.

Finally, she felt something being injected into her veins, and then heard Stark's voice shouting out the percents. When he got to eighty the pain became too much and she clenched her fists hardly, drawing a few drops of blood with her nails.

"A hundred percent!" she heard him shout before everything powered down.

Slowly, the machine opened, and she took in the fresh air gladly, wiping the sweat from her forehead and gasping.

"I-I," Mr. Stark stuttered, "maybe it's best you put on some clothes."

She looked at him as he helped her out of the machine, and she nodded.

"They're upstairs," she said, her voice soft.

"Come on then," he replied, and they walked upstairs together, as she got to his room and freshened up a bit before slipping in her skirt and buttoning her blouse.

She looked in the mirror, seeing she looked exactly the same, save for perhaps just half an inch taller, but she could be imagining that. And her arms, stomach and tighs looked a bit firmer, she realised, the fat had been strenghtened into muscle, but she hadn't lost much weight, which was good she realised. Healthy.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Go where?"

"Army training, of course," Stark smirked, "a soldier needs to attent practice."

oOo

After several weeks in training, ignoring the rowdy men and the way her drill sargeant would always pair her off with him so that he could go easy on her, she was allowed to leave the base.

She put on her beige high waisted shorts with a tucked in red shirt and flat red shoes, knowing she would only be visiting Steve and perhaps going for a swim, which she missed.

When she got to his house, she saw something she did not expect. Steve sat in his couch, his head resting in his hands wearing a costume which she had seen in comics the men in the army sometimes had.

"Captain America, huh?" she asked, making him raise his head and smile.

"Alice," he breathed, and then walked up to her and hugged her.

"You're famous," she whispered.

"I'm a joke," he muttered, half to himself.

They both let go, sitting down next to each other.

"You look good," he told her, smiling. She looked a tad bit tanner, from the long hours spent in the sun, running and training.

"You too," she smiled softly.

"I have a show if half an hour," he told her.

"Let's get going, then," she answered.

"Don't you want to change?" he motioned towards her shorts, which reached to half her thighs.

"I'll stay hidden backstage," she shook her head, "besides, what does it matter what they think, right?"

He sighed, "right."

They took a cab to Steve's show where about thirty women in short skirts were getting their makeup ready for the show.

"See, we all look amazing," she whispered to him.

As soon as the show started se took a seat in the front row, not really knowing what to expect. The music began and Steve took his place fron center stage, the women began dancing behind him as he discreetly read off papers taped to his shield.

"Every penny is a bullet in your best guy's gun," he finished before marching off towards the side and letting the women dance.

A couple of kids a few roads down began shouting and pointed when the man dressed as Hitler snuck behind the dancing women, and Steve turned just in time to deliver a fake blow to his head, making everyone cheer.

After the show, she waited for Steve to finish taking pictures and meeting and greeting people lined up to see him. She wondered if any of the smiles he threw at the camera were even half real.

When he was done, they headed to the movie theater.

"We're going to see me," he laughed, "in a movie."

"Your crew works fast," she told him.

"The tour is over, the last stop is the soldiers tomorrow."

"As in the army?"

"Yup."

"I guess I'l be seeing you there, then."

He smiled.

"How is the army?"

"Easy."

"Right," he laughed.

They watched the movie sharing a bucket of popcorn, Steve smiling at the image of himself and she nudging him and whispering to him.

"The woman in the last row is about to hunt you down and force you to marry her," she said during the beginning.

When the show was over, they parted ways, Alice taking a cab back to the army training center and Steve walking home. She kissed his cheek before walking away.

"See you tomorrow, soldier."

"Indeed you will, Sargeant Winston."

She laughed as she walked away, as did he.

oOo

"How many of you are ready to help me sock old Adolf on the jaw?" Steve spoke cheerfully.

The silence rang through the crowd composed of soldiers, sargeants and lieutenants. Alice winced as she watched him struggle, then cheered herself, and he noticed, which made him smile slightly, and made everyone else look between them confusedly.

"Okay," he sighed, "uh, I need a volunteer."

"I already volunteered, how do you think I got here?!" shouted out the man besides her. She punched his leg, making him let out an '_oof' _sound and bend forward. She didn't say sorry.

"Bring back the girls!" cried out someone else, and cheering ran through the crowd.

"I think we only know that one song, but I'll," he stuttered blinking quickly, "I'll se what I can do."

"You do that, sweetheart!" someone said from the front row, making everyone laugh.

"Nice boots, Tinkerbell!" called the blonde soldier a few seats away from Alice, and she turned to see him and shoved his arm.

"Ouch!" he cried and she gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Sorry," she said sarcastically.

"Come on guys, we're all on the same team," Steve tried.

"Hey, Captain," a soldier stood up and let his pants fall down on the back, "sign this!"

Everyone cheered, and Steve looked utterly uncomfortable, and tired and sad, and Alice wanted to run up to him and give him the best hug of his life, but she stopped herself.

Someone threw a tomato at him, and then more and more started.  
"Hey! Hey!" Alice cried, taking as many as she could from them and throwing them to the ground, "stop that!"

Some of the soldiers near her stopped, but most continued, until Steve gave up trying to shield himself and walked out, and the girls took their place onstage.

"Don't worry, pal," the director of the show told Steve, "they'll warm up to you."

oOo

Alice found him sitting in his regular army clothes sketching something on a notebook and creeped up behind him. The drawing was sketched with a pencil, and it was of a monkey riding a unicycle, dressed in the same attire as him. She wanted to tell him to get inside, since there was heavy rain, but knew neither one of them could get sick anymore, thanks to the serum.

"They don't hate you," she spoke up, sitting down next to him.

He sighed and shook his head.

"They don't like me either," he said, "any why should they? They're all out there fighting, risking their lives, while I dance around."

"You're trying, you're doing what they made you do."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm not helping much."

"Thanks to you, the army still has funds."  
He cocked his head, and sighed. He'd been doing that a lot lately.

"I guessed I helped, then," his voice broke.

"I need to report to my isntructor," she said, "will you be alright?"

"I'm Captain America," he smiled, "I'm always alright."

"Shut up," she smiled, hugging him, her voice coming muffled from being pressed up against his chest.

She began walking away, but turned back in time to see Peggy walk up behind him, and Steve turn in surprise.

"Hello, Steve," she smiled.

"Hi!"

Alice smiled, knowing Peggy would probably make it better.

She walked into a tent where Colonel Chester Philips was standing.

"Those are the only left from troop 107th," he finished saying to a woman who typed it all up and ran off.

Alice's breath was cut short, and she almost snapped the list out of her hands to search for Bucky's name. Bucky's name had to be there. It had to be, because he couldn't die.

"Well if it isn't the star spangled man," he said, and Alice turned to see Steve walk in with Peggy hot on his tail.

"I need the casualty list from 107," Steve ordered.

"You don't get to give me orders, son," Colonel Philips threatened.

"Just one name sir, please," Alice pleaded, "Sargeant James Barnes."

"You and I will have a conversation later that you won't enjoy," he motioned to Peggy, who straightened her uniform.  
"Sir, I need to know if he's alive," Steve said, "B-A-R-"

"I can spell," Colonel Philips interrupted.

There was a long moment of silence during which Alice kept blinking three times a second, holding her breath.

"I've signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count," he confessed, "but the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."

Alice finally let out the breath she'd been holding, a soft _no _echoing out along with it.

"What about the others?" Steve asked, "are you planning a rescue mission?"

"Yes, it's called winning the war," Colonel Philips answered.

"If you know where they are,-"

"They're 30 miles behind enemy lines," he interrupted, "We'd lose more men than we'd save. But I don't expect you to understand that because you're a chorus girl."

Steve clenched his jaw.

"I think I understand just fine."

"Well then, understand somewhere else. If I read the posters right you've got somewhere to be in thirty minutes."

"Yes sir," Steve said, "I do."

Alice looked at the map memorizing the location where they had marked the Hydra base. Where Bucky could be alive. Where Bucky _had _to be alive.

"If you've got something to say this is the perfect time to keep it to yourself."

"I'm afraid the show's about to start, sir," Alice tells him, "and we can't be late."

She walks out, puts on an army green jacket and buttons it up over her black tank top, green army pants and brown combat boots. She puts her hair into a ponytail, to keep it out of her face and straps an extra gun to her waist.

"We're going in there, right?" Steve asks walking into the room.

"Like we have any other choice," she says, taking a loaded rifle and testing it's weight before taking that too, along with ammo.

"He could be-"

"No," Alice cut him off.

"Alice, I just don't want for us to get our hopes up-"

"We're not getting our hopes up. He's alive. I know it."

She's about to walk out of the room when he asks the question.

"How?"

She gulps down the tears.

"Because he still owes me a dance."

**The reason I am posting so much today is I decided to stop procastinating my life and actually do shit and now I have a lot of time in my hands because I did things when I was supposed to do them (yay me!)**

**Also, tomorrow is international Mean Girls day and me and my friends are cosplaying the characters (wearing pink, because it's Wednesday, of course).**

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing (I love reviews) and following!**


	5. Chapter 5

Alice, Steve, Peggy and Howard Stark were all inside the plane flying to the Hydra camp.

"We should be able to drop you off right at the doorstep," Stark told Steve.

"Just get us as close as you can," Steve answered, then turned to Peggy, "you know, you two are gonna get in a lot of trouble."

"And you won't?" she replied.

"Where I'm going if anyone yells at me, I can just shoot them."

"They will undoubtedly shoot back."

"Let's hope it's good for something."

"It will be," Alice assures, more to comfort herself than Steve.

"Agent Carter, if we're not in too much of a hurry, I thought we could stop for a light night fondue," Stark called from the pilot's seat.

Peggy rolled her eyes and Steve looked between the two of them.

"Stark is the best civilian pilot we've ever seen. We're lucky to have him."

"So do you two.. do you.. fondue?"

"This is your transponder, activate it when your ready and it will lead us right to you," Peggy ignored his question and handed him the transponder.

"Does it work?" Steve asked.

"It's been tested more than you, pal," Howard answered.

Suddenly bombs began shaking the ship, and getting shot. Alice opened the latch and Steve followed.

"No! We're dropping you two off right inside!" Agent Carter complained.

"Get out of here as soon as we jump," Alice ordered.

"You can't give me orders!" Peggy complained.

"The hell I can't, I'm a Captain!" Steve smirked, before jumping off with Alice.

"Oi, those two will get themselves killed," Peggy muttered under her breath.

Alice and Steve landed in the middle of the woods, kneeling down.

"Quickly," Alice whispered, just in case anyone was near and they ran towards the Hydra base.

It was dark, save for the lights from the base, until two military cars passed by the trail and Steve gave Alice a look, to which she nodded.

They ran towards the vehicles, jumping into the back of one of them and landing inside. Two German soldiers stared at them intently and Steve gulped.

"Fellas," Steve nodded.

One of them shot towards Alice, the other one landing on top of Steve. She took him by the neck and then shoved him, punching his jaw and kicking his butt, which felt quite nice. Refusing to use the gun, she shoved him out through the back of the car, while Steve took his attacker by the shirt and did the same, making them land with a painful thud and a groan.

They felt the car coming to a stop, and quieted their breathings. Steve placed his shield on top of them, hiding them just in time from the soldier opening the tarp. Steve used his shield to knock him unconcious and they both jumped out of the car.

"What's next?" Alice asked.

"This way," Steve pointed.

They walked through the shadows, hiding along military vehicles and praying they wouldn't be seen. They saw the roof of the building and ran towards it, jumping on top of it using one of the military cars as a step.

From on top of the building, they could see the whole camp, and their mouths widened when they noticed how big it was. How many people there were that could spot them at any given time. How everyone there wanted to prevent them from succeding. How many ways this could go wrong.

"Come on," Alice muttered, as they came in front of a door.

Steve knocked, making Alice smile a little. When the guard behind it opened it, Steve gripped the handle and smashed the guard's head between the door and the wall twice, before they quietly stepped through it into a hallway where they hid behind the crates full of missiles and different war equipment.

They stopped when they saw some of the weaponry was different, like bullets but with something blue in them. Something that shone brightly, casting shadows in every direction.

"That's weird," Steve muttered.

"We should probably take one," Alice whispered, "who knows what it is, maybe it'll be useful for research."

Steve nodded and grabbed one from the table, shoving it into his uniform pocket as they continued running on, trying to find Bucky.

Soon, they found themselves standing on top of the cells, where the guards were patrolling. Steve took out three of them and Alice knocked them both out, and took the keys from them, handing them to Steve. The men all stood up when they saw them

"And who are you supposed to be?" a man with a thick mustache and a hat asked Steve.

"I'm Captain America," he said.

They ran down to the cells and opened them up, releasing everyone from their respective prisions.

"Are we taking everyone?" the same man from before asked, looking at a man who looked like he had asian roots.

"I'm from Fresno, ace," the asian looking guy snapped.

Alice looked around, trying to find Bucky's familiar face, but she didn't see him. Her heart beat quickened as she looked at the mustache man.

"Is there anybody else?" she asked him, wide eyed.

"We're looking for Sargeant James Barnes," Steve added.

"There's some other men, but not in here," one of the men replied.

"Great," Steve said, "I'll meet you in the clearing with anyone else I find."

Alice turned around and began walking away, Steve following behind her, both of them eager to find Bucky.

"Wait," one of the men called, "do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah," Steve replied, "I've knocked Adolf Hitler out like a hundred times."

Alice smirked as they walked away, the men staring in awe, wide eyed. They ran away from the prisions, the men quickly catching up behind them as they found weaponry and shot and fought the Hydra soldiers, as did Steve and Alice.

Steve used his shield, while Alice, now unafraid of who would listen, used both her guns and her body to fight all of the soldiers that came their way. She needed to find Bucky, and she wasn't even processing what was going on in the fight, just shooting, and kicking and shoving and punching until whoever was in her way wasn't anymore.

They kept on going, until they came to a dark hallway, where they saw a lone man, short and wide staring at them, before taking off running in the opposite direction. Steve and Alice quickly followed behind him, until they heard a soft groan. Alice gasped, turning to see an open door leading into a room. She walked in, while Steve chased the short man until he too realised she was gone and came back for her.

Untangible words were coming out of someone's mouth half whispered half groaned, and Alice saw something that brought tears to her eyes.

"Bucky," she gasped, "Bucky, hey," she snapped, "oh, dear."  
She untied him, freeing him from the straps on his arms and legs.

"Oh my God," Steve gasped when he saw him, helping Alice untie him.

"It's me," Alice spoke, placing a hand on his cheek, "it's me, Alice."

"Alice?" Bucky asked, and then a slight smile overtook his face, "Alice."

"Yes, it's me," she smiled, helping him up.

"Bucky, it's me Steve," Steve told him.

"Steve?" Bucky groaned.

"I thought you were dead," Steve confessed, while Bucky leaned on him and Alice.

"I thought you were smaller," Bucky gave him a once-over.

"We need to go," Alice said.

Steve nodded, looking at a map behind her back. She turned, and saw it marked all the Hydra bases. Both her and Steve tried to memorize it, engrave it into their heads, before rushing off.

"Come on," Steve said, making Bucky lean on him, "check the coast," he said to Alice.

She nodded and dashed ahead, while Steve struggled carrying Bucky.

"What happened to you two?" Bucky asked.

"We joined the army," Steve said.

Alice checked the hall, and after seeing there was no potential threat went ahead, Steve and Bucky following close behind. They rushed aboveground, where the fight between the Hydra soldiers and the rest of the men continued.

"Did it hurt?" Bucky asked them.

"A little," Steve answered, and Bucky looked worriedly at Alice who kept quiet.

"Is it permanent?"

"So far."

Then the first explosion ocurred, racking their ears. Then the second and third, and they rushed up a flight of stairs were the leader of Hydra stood across a bridge.

"Captain America," he shouted, "how exciting! I am a great fan of yours and your friend here, Miss America."

Bucky looked at her, and she took his hand out of instinct, which he tightened his grip on quickly.

"I've watched all your films," the German leader smiled, "so, Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but.. still."

Steve walked towards the man, who at the same time was coming towards him. Bucky and Alice huddled close, and Alice told herself it was to help him, since he had been injured. She swore to herself it was just that, no matter what she felt.

"Impressive," the man acknowledged looking between her and Steve.

Steve threw a punch at the man's face, making him bend over in pain and put his hand on his jaw.

"You've got no idea."


	6. Chapter 6

"Let's hope this doesn't hurt too much," Alice muttered, placing the soaking wet towel over Bucky's shoulder wound.

He winced but didn't say anything. Looking down at her, her skin tanner than he remembered, her hair longer he wondered what things she had been up to. He wondered if she'd been thinking about him at all, in all the days he'd been gone, because he knew he sure as hell had been thinking of her.

"There," she concluded, placing a bandage over the wound and smiling proudly at her accomplishment.

"Thank you," Bucky said, standing up from the sink counter where he had been resting while she fixed him up.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, putting the medical kit away and tucking it into another cabinet.

"Good, I guess," he said, "much better than when I was tied up inside a Hydra base."

"I supposed so," she laughed.

"God, I missed that laugh," he said, looking down at her.

She looked up, staring at him with the traces of laughter not completely ereased from her face. She couldn't blink, couldn't breathe. Bucky couldn't believe he'd said that either, but it had come out without a second thought, and after considering it, he wouldn't take it back. He meant it.

She didn't know how they had gotten so close, but suddenly his hands were on her waist, and hers rested on his chest. Slowly, he tilted his head downward, leaning down towards her.

It happened slowly, while they both leaned towards each other, until their lips touched. She didn't move at first, unable to register what had just happened, and then her body relaxed, curving into his. He wrapped both hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him, as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

Tentatively at furst, waiting for something, but there was no need. Now that she had kissed him back, Bucky knew she cared for him just as much as he cared for her, and he pulled her closer, not caring the freshly changed bandage was now smudged with dirt and mud from her uniform.

When they part, they both look each other in the eye for a second, unsure of what to say. What to make of this, which without knowing it, they had both craved for so long.

Then she laughed, making him chuckle. She laughed out of the excitement and the nerves, and she could feel her hands shaking a little, now that they were pushed against his chest.

"And we still haven't danced.." he murmured, tracing her lips with his thumb.

oOo

Alice and Bucky walked into the room where Steve, Colonel Philips and Peggy were discussing Shmidt. They were all a bit traumatized about the fact that he had quite literally ripped his own face off to reveal the red skin underneath it.

After he had left, Bucky, Steve and Alice had had to jump across the bridge which the short man, who they now knew was Dr. Zola, had separated the bridge. Bucky and Alice had walked across a piece of metal before it crashed down.

Steve had told them to get out without him, but they refused to leave. They couldn't leave without him, so he jumped, and they all survived, and arrived later at the army base, where Colonel Philips was surprised, to say the least, to know they survived. Everyone was.

"This one is here in Poland," Steve marked on the map.

Alice went and stood next to him, still shaky from what had happened earlier. She wondered if Bucky regretted it, and that made her wonder if she did. But she couldn't bring herself to regret it, knowing that could very well have been their last kiss. And she found herself hoping it wasn't.

"And the sixth one was about," Steve marked another place on the map, "here."

Peggy sat down in front of him, smiling slightly. Steve was enjoying his new uniform, which didn't feel like so much of a publicity stunt as the other one.

"I just got a quick look," he finished, as another man took away the map, presumably to Colonel Philips.

"Well nobody's perfect," Peggy smiled.

Steve smiled back, nervously.

"We need your help," he said to Alice, and she nodded, following him to another map where they had marked all of the Hydra bases they had known about before this.

"This are the weapon factories we know about," Steve said, "Sargeant Barnes said they shipped out all the weapons to another facility that isn't on this map."

"Agent Carter," Colonil Philips said, "coordinate with MI6. I want every allied eyeball looking for that main Hydra base."

"What about Schmidt?" Alice asked.

"We are going to set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass," Colonerl Philips replied, taking a folder from a blonde woman.

"What do you say?" he asked Alice and Steve, "it's your map. You think you can wipe Hydra off it?"

"Yes, sir," Steve replied.

"We'll need a team," Alice added.

"We're already putting together all the best men," Colonel Philips answered.

"With all due respect," Steve said, "so am I."

**I hope you guys liked their first kiss, because I had never written this type of kissing scene before. Mostly, my characters tend to not be exactly ****_best friends _****since the start, so this was different.**

**Please tell me what you thought in the reviews.**

**Reviews, favorites and follows literally make me so happy, I can't stop smiling and my flatmate is asking what's wrong since I don't smile like this when I'm not watching 2 Broke Girls.**

**Thank you all, so much!**


	7. Chapter 7

"So let's get this straight, we barely got out of there alive and now you want us to go back?"

"Pretty much," Steve confessed.

"Sound rather.. fun, actually," one of the men answered.

Jim burped.

"I'm in," Jim said.

Alice smiled at Steve excitedly. Steve knew he had chosen the right men, whether they were the best or not.

Two of the men spoke animatedly in French making Steve smile wider. Bucky was sitting next to Alice, one of his hands resting on her seat. She wondered if he noticed, because she definetely did.

"We're in," one of the men who spoke in French translated.

"Hell, I'll always play," Timothy Dugan smiled, "but you gotta do one thin for me."  
"What's that?"

"Open a tab," all the men chuckled.

"Well, that was easy," Alice smiled.

"Another round," Steve ordered the man behind the counter.

"Where are they putting all this stuff?" the bartender asked.

All of the men walked off to different parts of the bar, save for Bucky, who still sat next to Alice.

"See," Bucky said to Steve when he returned, "told you. They are all idiots."

"What about you?" Steve asked, "you ready to follow Captain America into the jowls of death?"

"Hell, no," Bucky replied, "That little guy from Brooklyn that was too dumb not to run away from a fight.. I'm following him."

"But you're keeping the outfit, right?" Bucky asked, making Alice laugh.

"You know what," Steve confessed, "it's kinda grown on me."

"Good," Alice smiled, "because you're wearing that for the rest of the war."  
"Let's hope so," Steve smiled.

The singing men quieted down when they saw Peggy walk in wearing a red dress instead of her usual army uniform, which Alice was wearing, even now.

"Captain," she spoke.

"Agent Carter," Steve nodded.

"Stark has some equipment for you two to try," she said to Steve and Alice, "tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good," Steve replied.

Alice nodded, noticing the looks Steve was giving her. She knew Peggy had grown fond of him, and Steve cared for her too, of course. She had been nice to him, even before he became Captain America, which made it all better.

"I see your top squad is prepping for duty," she commented.

"You don't like music?"

"I do, actually," she replied, "I might even soon go dancing."

Bucky looked at Alice, smirking when she said that, making Alice blush, smile and shake her head.

"And what are we waiting for?" Bucky asked, looking at Alice.

"The right partner," Peggy answered, making Steve smile, "see you tomorrow, Captain. You too, Alice."

"Yes ma'am," Steve replied, "I'll be there."

Alice smiled at Peggy as she walked away.

"And you used to say no girl would ever like you," Alice taunted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mm, nothing.."

Alice smiled as she sat back down, Bucky following suit.

"I need a drink," Steve confessed, heading towards the bar and the men, who cheered when they saw him, clearly drunk.

"I think I'm heading home," Alice stood up.

"Do you wanna dance?" Bucky blurted, unexpectedly.

Alice smiled, standing up.

"We have other things to worry about besides dancing," she sighed.

"It's our last night before our first mission," he stood up, towering over her, "don't you want to make the best of it?"

"Making the best of it would mean taking myself to bed."  
"Perhaps I can assist you," Bucky joked, making Alice laugh.

"Perhaps, after we dance."

"Let me at least walk you home," Bucky insisted.

"At least? Isn't that enough?" Alice joked.

"I doubt anything would feel like enough," Bucky chuckled.

They walked towards her house, which was just four blocks away from the bar where their new team was still drinking and laughing, enjoying their last night before duty's call.

"Aw, I remember that swing!" Bucky exclaimed, running towards the tire that hung from a rope, tied to the tree in the front yard of the house three houses down from Alice's.

Alice laughed, walking towards him. She remembered how they used to hang out there, as children. Bucky would push Steve, Steve would push Alice, and Alice would push Bucky. The middle aged lady who owned the house didn't mind, she actually rather enjoyed knowing some use was being put to that swing.

"I'll push," Bucky smiled, and Alice sat down on the swing.

Bucky pushed softly, making her go only a few feet above the ground, for fear of the old, worn out rope breaking.

"When was the last time we did something like this?" Bucky asked.

"I don't know, but it's definetely been too long," Alice replied.

When they finally stopped it was completely dark out, and they could hear no cars on any nearby street.

"Is this what silence sounds like?" Bucky whispered.  
"The calm before the storm," Alice spoke.

They laughed quietly, for some reason. Maybe the silence felt to heavenly to break, or maybe they didn't want to dusturb anyone's sleep, who knew? But the silence seemed to make them both remember what had happened earlier.

"You know, I meant it," Bucky suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"I missed your laugh, like crazy," Bucky smiled, "I thought about you. While I was in there."

"Why, does pain remind you of me?"

Bucky laughed.

"No, but seruously, though, I missed you."

"I missed you too," she confessed, as they stopped in front of her house.

"This is the part of the date where you give me my goodbye kiss," he smiled.

"Goodnight," she leaned up, and pecked his cheek.

He groaned.

"Goodnight."

**oOo**

"Initial signature is unusual," Stark spoke, "alpha beta remain neutral. No doubt Rogers picked up on that."

He was studying the sample Steve had brought back from the Hydra base, Alice standing next to him.

"Seems harmless enough," he added, "hard to see what all the fuss is about."

When he directed the second mechanical hand towards it, the tiny blue speck blew up, shattering the glass and causing an explosion that send everyone falling to the floor.

"Write that down," Stark dizzily said.

Alice stood up, wiping her hands on her uniform skirt.

"You okay?" Stark asked her.

"Yeah, just," she looked at herself, noticing small pieces of glass had been embeded into her shin, "just minor cuts. I'll get them fixed."  
She headed towards the bathroom, Stark following her with his own medical kit.

"I kind of stole this from the sink, just in case" he confessed, "I'll help you clean that up."

She nodded, sitting down on the sink. She though about Bucky, and tried not to. She was being fixed up by a handsome man, who was undoubtedly attracted to her, and all she could think of was when she had been in Stark's place, cleaning Bucky up.

She winced when he pressed the alcohol-drenched towel to her cut.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's okay," she shook her head.

"So," he said, "when's your first mission?"

"Soon, I suppose," she tried talking to him, to ignore the pain in her leg.

"You saw what that did in there," he said, "are you sure you want to go out there?"

"I know the risk, that doesn't change anything."

**I was going to make this chapter longer, but I'm going somewhere and I'm not sure at what time of the day I'll be able to post again, so I decided to give you what I already had written so far.**

**Thank you for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting. I love you all. **


	8. Chapter 8

"Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend," Stark told Steve as they walked with Alice towards a table.

"Really?" Steve asked, "I didn't think-"

"Or should you, pal," Stark said, "the moment you think you know what's going on in a woman's head is the moment your goose is well and truly cooked," he cast a glance at Alice.

"Me, I try to concentrate on work," he said, "which at the moment is about making sure you and your team do not get killed."

They walked towards a table with an array of different types of shields, and Stark began introducing them all.

"Carbon polymer," he showed the first, "should withstand your average German bayonet."

"But we're not going up against your average German bayonet," Alice commented.

"No, we're not," Stark acknowledged, "I hear you're uh.. kind of attached?"

Stark said, referring to the shield Steve used to use on shows, before giving it a pat.

"It's handier than you might think," Steve justified.

"I took the liberty of coming up with some options," Stark said, "this one's fun. She's been fitted with electrical relays. That will allow you to-"

"What about this one?" Steve asked, taking a shield that was previously hidden underneath the table.

"No, no that's just a prototype," Stark replied.

"What's it made of?" Alice asked, touching it's cool, hard metal.

"Vibranium," Stark answered, "it's stronger than steel, and a third of the weight. It's complete vibration absorbent."

"How come it's not standard issue?" Steve asked.

"That's the rarest metal on Earth," Stark explained, "what you're holding there, that's all we got."

"Are you quite finished, Mr. Stark?" Peggy asked, walking around the corner, "I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business," she said spitefully.

"What do you think?" Steve smiled.

Peggy sighed, turning around and grabbing a gun from a table, aiming at Steve, who covered up with his shield. After shooting four times at him, she smiled.

"Yes, I think it works."

She walked away, Alice stiffling laughter, while Stark stood next to Steve looking at her walk away angrily.

"I had some ideas for the uniform," Steve finally said.

"Whatever you want, pal."

"Yours too," Steve said to Alice.

"I don't have a uniform," she replied.

"You know, people are calling you Miss America," he said.

"No," she shook her head when she realised what he meant, "there is no way-"

**oOo**

They were gearing up for their first mission, all of them dressed as regular army soldiers, save for Steve and Alice. She was wearing a female version of his uniform.  
"I can't believe you made me do this," she sighed.  
"You don't look half bad," he gave her a once-over.

"I never do," she joked.

"Actually, you look _fine,_" Dum Dum smiled, "they should've made the showings and comics about you."

The men laughed, agreeing, while Steve just smiled. He knew she was secretely pleased with how she looked in it.

"Well then," she said, "off we go."

**Kind of short, but I seprated the rest of the chapter from this one, since it was**

**a) too long**

**b) too sad**

**The next chapter is when they begin going on missions, which means they go to ****_the _****mission. The one where there is a train involved. And pain. And death (even though, of course, he doesn't actually die).**

**So next chapter will be quite sad BEWARE.**


	9. Chapter 9

They stormed Hydra bases, removing them one by one off the grid. Steve was their captain, Bucky and Alice the sargeants and the rest of the men the soldiers. And they were the best team Steve could've possibly chosen. One by one, they overtook the facilities, trying to rid the world of any weaponry or soldiers Hydra had left, which by the time they were halfway done, were not many.

Steve carried with him a picture of Peggy, which he looked at every chance he was given. Alice smiled at the thought of Peggy thinking about him too, and felt a certain satisfaction in knowing he had met someone he cared for who also cared for him.

Bucky and Alice worked together in almost every mission, covering each other and helping Steve. It was strange for Alice, to be camping for so long with a bunch of rowdy men, but by now, no matter how much they flirted with her, they realised fun and jokes was all it would ever be. She camped in her own tent, alone, save for when she stayed up with Steve and Bucky devising new plans.

**oOo**

Bucky found Alice asleep in the middle of the day, while they were traveling by train to their next mission.

"Sargeant Winston," he barked, making her wake up.

He chuckled when her eyes went wide, but the laughter died down when he noticed she was aiming a gun at him, right at his heart, her hand on the trigger. It took her a few seconds to register she wasn't in danger. It wasn't a threat, just Bucky. Bucky.

"Bucky," she exhaled, relieved.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I didn't realise-"

"It's okay," she shook her head.

"C'mere," he said, wrapping his arms around her.

She let out a deep breath, wrapping her arms around his torso. She felt safe in his arms, as if he'd never let her go.

She knew people thought she and Bucky were dating, but back in the army base they also thought she and Stark were dating, so no one knew for sure.

The few Americans she had seen since the team had began with their missions had asked her since when she and Bucky were together, and she'd replied they weren't, and she'd gotten a few sarcastic replies, along with the casual 'you can keep it a secret if you like'.

"Do you want to talk?"

She shook her head.

"Do you want to cry?"

She nodded, the first tears already spilling out of her eyes.

"Sh, sh," he said, wiping away the tears, "it's okay."

She didn't know what was making her cry, but maybe it was everything that had happened lately, and the fact that she was so confused about so many things. She didn't know where she stood with Bucky which made her nervous. If there was one thing that had always been firm and unchanging it was their friendship.

He looked at her, and he swore to himself he wouldn't give her up. He had seen her talking to Stark happily, laughing, and he'd tried not to be jealous, but he was done trying. Why couldn't he try instead to get her heart?

She looked at him, and she tried not to feel any differently than she had for all those years in which they had been just friends. She knew he had dated many different girls, she knew someone could very well be waiting for him back home, but for once she didn't care. She wasn't afraid anymore.

"Bucky," she breathed.

"I love you," he blurted.

Again, there he went saying things he meant but didn't mean to say. He was thinking it, and suddenly he was saying it.

Every doubt left her as she leaned in to him, closing her eyes. He closed his eyes and pulled her close to him. This time, their kiss wasn't as soft and innocent as the first, it was heated, full of passion.

"I love you," she said, between kisses.

She ran her hands through his hair, as he pushed her into her bed, laying on top of her. All he could think of was her lips on his, her body touching his, laying right below her, separated only by a thin layer of clothes.

He kissed her neck, making her moan a little, which made him smirk. She felt his smile on her neck as he traveled down, until getting to her sweet spot.

She brought his face back to hers, connecting their lips. She pulled at his hair, and he licked her lips, which she opened gladly. They kissed for what felt like minutes and hours all the same, they kissed forever.

They only broke the kiss to pull of her shirt, then his. Her hands traveled across his bare chest, as he touched the skin of her waist and the small of her back.

The night carried on, and Steve and the men in the rooms next to them could hear them both moaning, the bed creaking until they both came and fell asleep next to each other, her head laying on his naked chest.

"I love you," he said, "and I'm with you, okay? Always."

"I love you," she repeated.

"I'm with you," he kissed her forehead, "till the end of the line."

The sheets tangled around them, their breaths matched to each other's they fell asleep, and woke up to the most beautiful sights they had ever seen.

**oOo**

They were standing on the side of the mountain, the cold piercing through their uniforms and causing goosebumps on their skin. Alice and Bucky were sharing binoculars, Steve giving them instructions while two of the men listened quietly to a radio.

"Remember when I made you ride the cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah," Steve remembered, "and I threw up."

"This isn't payback, is it?" Bucky asked.

"Now, why would I do that," Steve smirked.

"We were right," Dum Dum called, "Doctor Zola is on the train. Hydra dispatch gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad."  
Alice handed Steve the binoculars, and he looked into the train.

"Let's get going, because they're moving like the devil," one of the men said.

"We only got about a ten second window," Steve explained, "you miss that window, we're bugs on a winshield."

"Mind the gap," Jacques said.

The zip line was ready, and each person had a hook or belt to use, as did Alice.

"Better get moving folks," Dum Dum shouted, before Steve jumped, Alice behind him, and Bucky behind her.

They landed on the roof of the train, went down the ladder on the side, which Alice held on to for dear life, before jumping into the cart after Steve. She held her gun towards the door, in case someone was there.

The silence was almost too quiet, until suddenly, Steve stepped into another cart and the doors closed, Steve and Alice trapped together and Bucky in a separate one.

Bucky fired quickly at the Hydra soldier that walked into the cart he was in, while Steve shielded himself and Alice. She fired at the soldier while covering herself behind a rack of equipment.

Steve swung towards the soldier with a pipe on top of the ceiling, knocking him out and taking his gun. Alice ran into the room were Bucky was, opening the door.

She threw her gun at him, before shoving a box towards the Hydra soldier, which made him come right in front of Bucky, who shot him quickly.

Steve walked into the room, looking around.  
"I had him on the ropes," Bucky said.

"I know you did," Steve smirked.

"Get down!" Alice shouted, just as the Hydra soldier Steve had knocked out walked in behind them, aiming at Steve but opening a huge gap on the wall instead.

Steve flew to one side of the room, his shield lying on the floor. Bucky took the shield, covering himself.

It happened in slow motion, and yet Alice felt like she couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

"Bucky!" the cry rang out through the train, so loud and rough it scratched her throat and made her unable to speak for days.

After he fell, her legs gave in, becoming weary and shaky. She ran to the edge, but there was no sign of him. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, falling to the ground, unstopped.

"Bucky," she whispered.

That was the last thing she said, before turning to the soldier, who Steve was struggling with and shooting him in the head, twice, making him fall to the ground dead.

"Where's Bucky?" Steve asked, and Alice shooked her head, storming past him and into the room where Doctor Zola was.

"Ah!" he exclaimed in surprise, whimpering when he noticed the gun aimed at his chest.

She turned to the train driver, when Fury crashed in through the top of the train, aiming his gun at Zola. She tied him up, leaving him in the corner, when Steve walked into the room, looking for her.

"Alice-" he began, but she shook her head and stormed past him into one of the train compartments which was a broom closet.

She knocked over everything, breakin the mops and brooms in a rampage of rage, punching the walls while tears rolled down her cheeks. By the time she was done, the room was a mess, and she curled up into a tiny ball and sobbed in the corner, whimpering.

_I'm a mess, _she thought, _I'm a mess and I can't be trusted and I miss him like hell. _She sobbed into her arms, which held her head. _And he'll never come back. _There was a pit in her stomach, widening by the minute, making her feel like she was going to be sick.

_And he won't ever hold me again, _she could feel the bile rising in her throat. _And he's gone for good. _She wrapped her hands around her stomach, which was churning. _And we never had a chance to try. _She pulled her own hair in distress, sobbing but trying to keep it silent. _And he still owes me a dance._

She dry-heaved into the floor, and then passed out.

**No. No. No. No. No. No.**

**I'm not good at writing sex scenes, and I didn't want to make it too explicit, since it's rated T not M, and I don't know the age of each of my readers.**

**The line of no's listed above are my denial when I saw Bucky 'died' the first time I saw Captain America: The First avenger.**


	10. Chapter 10

"You need to talk to someone," Steve sighed, walking into the room were Alice was laying on the bottom bunk, staring at the wall, her back to him "you need to talk."

He sat next to her, and she retreated away from him.

"Alice," he sighed.

"Perhaps she needs more time, pal," Stark said, entering the room, "I brought you food," he told Alice, setting down a tray on her bedside table.

Steve shook his head and left the room in search for Peggy. Sure, he was sad, but he was dealing with it. He still had Peggy, and Alice, and his team. Alice didn't have most of her family, and her mother cared very little for her after her father left. Alice had Steve, but it felt as if a part of him was missing too.

She felt as if she had only half a friend left, as if Bucky had taken with him a part of Steve too. She felt as if she only had half of her left.

"Eventually," Stark spoke suddenly, "you'll get over it. You won't forget, and you won't stop hurting," his mouth was full with the food that was meant for her, "but you'll move on. You're young, and you will live the rest of your life happily, whether it takes a week, a month or five years for you to realise.. that you need to live for yourself. You can't live, while expecting in your head to wait for him to come back."

She nodded, trying to understand. Trying to feel the way he said she would, like she would now live for herself.

"It's all in the baby steps," he muttered.

_Baby steps_, she thought. She tried taking a step by sitting up. Stark smiled and handed her a glass of water, which felt like heaven after the scratched, dry, parched condition of her throat.

She couldn't eat yet, she didn't feel like it. She knew she'd be sick if she ate, so instead she just drank water quietly.

"When my parents died," Stark continued, "I reacted very much like you just did. I didn't leave their bed for days. I was just a child."  
He took another bite of her sandwich.  
"What I didn't realise, however," he said between mouthful and mouthful, "was that _my _life wasn't over. Theirs was. I still needed to fight for something. For myself."

He stood up, leaving the second sandwich there for her in case she wanted it, along with a side of fries.

"You need to fight for yourself," he said, "you need to live for yourself."

Then he was gone, and Alice was left alone with her thoughts. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, walking towards the shower for the first time since he died.

She stayed under the cold water a long time after washing her hair and body, and when she finally walked out, she sighed.

"Baby steps," she whispered, taking her uniform from her closet.

**oOo**

"Well, that's certainly not what I meant by baby steps, but exactly what I wanted," Stark clapped.

Alice almost smiled, but couldn't force herself to do it. Steve saw her and headed towards her, Peggy behind him.

"Hello, Agent Winston," Peggy smiled softly at her, before giving her a quick hug.

Looking between her and Steve she realised how lucky he was, and felt happy for him.

"I found out something," he said sadly, "we can't get drunk anymore."

Alice gave a half smile at that.

"We have a meeting in a few minutes," Peggy said, "are you coming?"  
"Yes, I am."

oOo

"Johann Schmidt belongs in a bug house, he thinks he's a god and he's willing to blow up half the world to prove it starting with the U.S.A.," Colonel Philips said, "thank you for coming," he added, looking at Alice, who nodded at him.

"Maybe it isn't the best time.." Jacques began, but Colonel Philips cut him off.

"I don't care about the best time, I care about my best soldiers and she sure as hell is one," he snapped, "now, Stark, do continue."

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities," Stark spoke, "he gets across the Atlantic, he will wipe out the entire eastern seabord in an hour."

"How much time we got?" Sargeant Fury asked.

"According to my new best friend, twenty for hours," Colonel Philips smirked.

"Where is he now?" Alice spoke up, her voice coming out cracked.

She cleared her throat.

"Hydra's last base is here," Colonel Philips showed her a picture, "in the alps."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Dum Dum asked, "it's not like we can just knock on the front door."

"Why not?" Alice asked.

"That's exactly what we're gonna do," Steve concluded.


	11. Chapter 11

They defeated Schmidt, but that meant nothing now, as the world crashed around them. Alice could feel her nerves growing. Was she ready to die?

"If this ship isn't stopped before we arrive to New York, a huge part of the country will be destroyed," Steve said to Alice, "I gotta put her in the water," Steve said into the incom, to Peggy.

"Please don't do this, we have time, we can work it out," Peggy pleaded.

"Right now, we're in the middle of nowhere, if we wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die," Steve said, looking at their location.

"Peggy," Steve said, "this is my choice."  
He hung up the intercom, placing the picture of Peggy on the dashboard of the ship.  
"Are we sure?" he turned to Alice.

For a split moment, she considered alternatives. She considered everything, every option, and was sure there was some way to live. But instead of saying so, she decided something else. She realised in that moment that she had seen, lived and loved a lot. Perhaps not enough, but when would it be? She realised that she'd learned, about loss and friendship and love. Love, which was a possibility she had never considered before. She realised in that moment, she cared more about the thousands of people who still needed to live, love and learn, than her own life. She'd give it up in a second.

"We have to do it, Steve," she spoke, "now."

"Together?· Steve sighed, standing up towards her.

"I'm with you," her bottom lip quivered, "'till the end of the line."

The ice was cold, and the feelings inside of her as they crashed were colder than anything she had ever felt.

**oOo**

"Take us to the next grid point," Stark ordered.

"Sir, but there's no more traces! The signal ends here," his assistant replied.

"Just keep looking," he sighed.

He couldn't admit to himself she had died, and he couldn't help but think how wrong he was to have told her that she could live on after someone she loved had died.

You could walk, talk, and act the same, and you could fool everyone, even yourself. But if anyone said they were the same after they had lost someone they loved, it was bullshit.

It was bullshit and they were liars, and Howard Stark was living proof that no matter how many people you fooled, you were still broken inside.

And, dear god, how he wished he had just kissed her when he could.

"The war is over," one of the men said, "we should be celebrating."

"So should the people who ended it."

**oOo**

"_There's a pitch, it's a ball high outside! So, the dodges tied four to four. At the count, no doubt, one swing of his bat, this fella is capable of making it a brand new game again! Just an absolutely gorgeous day here at Ebbets field.."_

Alice woke up in a hospital bed, and sat up quickly. On the other side of the room, Steve was gradually waking up.

_"__Philly's have managed to tie it up four to four, but the Dodgers have three men on. Pitch, it's a strike. He leans in here's a pitch, swung on, it's a line drive. It gets past Grissom. Rizzo will score, Reiser heads to third. Durocher is going to wave him in.."_

Her brow furrowed as she realised she'd already heard this words before, live on the stadium. She threw the covers off her, revealing a medical gown.

"_They look to relay but they hold steady," _she mouthed the words along with the tape, _"Pete Reiser with an inside the park.."_

A nurse walked into the room, smiling widely.

"Good morning," she looked at her watch, "or should I say afternoon?"

Steve had woken up to, and was looking around strangely.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in a recovery room, in New York City," the nurse explained.

"_The Dodgers take the lead, it's eight to four. Oh ho Dodgers! What a game we have here today, folks, fine game indeed!"_

Alice shook her head, looking warily at the nurse before standing up in a defensive position.

"Where am I really?" Steve repeated.

"I'm afraid I don't understand?"

"The game," Alice explained, "it's from May 1941."  
"We were there," Steve added, "now, I'm going to ask you again.. where am I?"

Steve stood up, staring at the nurse.

"Captain Rogers-"

"Who are you?" he snapped.

Four soldiers walked in behind her, after she pressed a small button she carried in her hand.

"Captain Rogers, wait-"

Steve threw himself at the wall, smashing it and revealing a room behind it. He ran out, Alice following him quickly.

They walked into a hallway full of people, who followed them, they pushed and shoved, until running out of the buidling.

As soon as they walked out they stopped in their tracks. Goosebumps ran up and down Alice's arms as she took everything in, Steve turning around and staring at the huge buildings around them, the lights, the cars and the people. It was too much, all too much. The soldiers were holding the people back from walking close to them.

"At ease, soldiers!" one of the soldiers shouted at them.

A man with an eyepatch walked out of a car, walking towards them. Alice could notice everyone around them staring, and she felt nervous, standing in a hospital gown in front of so many people, and so many lights and things which were all too big and new for her to comprehend.

"Look, I'm sorry about the little show back there," the dark-skinned man said to them, "we thought it best to break it to you slowly."  
"Break what?" Steve snapped.

"You've been asleep, Caps," he explained, "for almost seventy years."

"Are you gonna be okay?" the man asked us.

Alice nodded, turning to him. She wanted answers. She wanted to know more. How had they survived?

"Yeah, yeah just.. I had a date," Steve answered.

**Holy diggity daggity DAMN, SON**

**We finished the first movie in three days! Yay!**

**Would you guys prefer it if I went into detail with what happened in the Avengers or if I just went over it quickly and skipped to after the battle of New York to get to the Winter Soldier quicker? Tell me in the reviews or PM me PLEASE!**

**Ah, I love you all.**


	12. Chapter 12: The Winter Soldier

"Hey fellas," Natasha called, opening the car window, "either of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."

"That's hilarious," Steve replied sarcastically.

Steve got into the back of the car, which was a tight fit for him, but he knew Alice would never give up her shotgun seat.

"How you doing?" Sam asked, nodding at Alice and Natasha.

"Hey," Natasha flirted.

Alice smiled, but said nothing.

"You can't run everywhere," Steve smirked.

"No, you can't," Sam agreed.

The car took off, as they raced quickly to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base to board the ship that would fly them to their mission.

"What's the mission?" Steve asked, and Alice handed him the printed file.

"You printed it?" Natasha asked.

"It spares me having to go over it out loud," she replied.

"Lazy, much?" Steve muttered, skimming the pages.

The car stopped in front of Steve and Alice's apartment, and Alice got out.

"You're not coming?" Steve asked.

"I have somewhere else to be.."

"Let me guess, it's a secret."  
"Isn't everything?" Alice smirked, walking inside.

She greeted their neighbor Kate before entering her apartment, where Nick Fury was waiting.

"A bit late, Agent Winston," he commented, sitted on her couch.

"I'm never late, everyone else is just early," she replied, taking a seat in front of him.

"We can't warn Steve yet, not with everything going on."  
"Does Natasha know?"

"She may have her suspicions, but she can't know for sure."

Alice nodded, leaning forward.

"You told her to get the files?"

"I did," he nodded, "now, your turn of the mission."  
He showed her a file, sliding it at her across the table.

"That's the winter soldier," he pointed at the picture of a man whose face was covered with a mask, his hair almost reached his shoulders and there was black paint smudged around his eyes, "we know close to nothing about him. That's the clearest picture we have."

"How is he relevant?" Alice asked.

"He is Hydra's puppet," Nick replied, "he's been appearing and disappearing for years, executing perfect kills. He never fails."

Alice took the file, noticing there was no name or personal information, and wondering just who he was.

"The risks are even higher than ever," Fury whispered.

Alice looked up.

"You can't trust anyone, besides the people you always have," he continued.

"Don't worry sir," she replied, "I don't."

**oOo**

"What about your neighbor?" Natasha kicked the man down, sending him flying and toppling down his partner.

"I don't even know her name," Steve groaned as he stood up and hit another pirate with his shield.

"Kate," Natasha answered.

"I need someone who understands what I've been through," Steve said, "who do you know that went through a war, was frozen for seventy years and woke up to become part of the Avengers?"

"Yeah, you're right, there's no one," Natasha sassed, "oh, wait! I have it at the tip of my tongue, what's her name again? Oh, right ALICE?!"

"I can't date Alice."  
"Why the hell not?"

"Because," he said, "she's not over Bucky."

"Geez, how long does she need, it's been seventy years.."

"Natasha.."

"And she actually looks like she has no feelings, at least in public."  
"But she does."

"She never dates anyone."

Steve opens his mouth, but Natasha cuts him off.

"One night stands don't count, and it only happened twice."

"She has feelings," he snapped, "she just doesn't like showing them."  
"And maybe they could be directed towards you!"

"Look, we're just friends," he exhaled.

Natasha turned around, knocking out both men standing at the door before turning back to him.

"Bucky and her were just friends."

**oOo**

Steve arrived late, with a sour look on his face.

"How'd it go?" Alice asked from the living room, hearing him pouring himself a drink in the kitchen.

"Fine," he snapped.

"O-kay, then.."

She headed towards her bedroom, changing quickly into her footsie pajamas, which were black with planets on them. She'd originally bought them for Natasha as a joke, but when she tried them on they felt so comfortable she kept them, and bought her Spiderman ones.

She walked back out into the living room, cuddling into Steve who was seated on the couch, half asleep, watching TV. His eyes were half closed, but he still opened them enough to put an arm around her.

"Alice," he whispered.

"Mm?"

"I miss him," he said.

"I miss him too," her voice cracked on the second word.

She didn't cry, though. She tried not to anymore, even though she often thought of him.

His childish, playful smile. His contagious laugh. The way his eyes crinkled when he smirked, and oh how he smirked. He was beautiful. She knew most men weren't, they were just handsome or hot or cute. But he was truly beautiful.

She'd seen the pictures of him time and time again, googled him whenever she could, just for the sake of it. It hurt, but it was better than not seeing him at all. She knew Steve carried the picture of the three of them in their first mission, joking around. But she could never bring herself to ask for it.

Her own picture, older even than Steve's, she hid always in some part of her uniform. In it, they were all smiling at the camera, except Bucky. He was looking at her. She hadn't noticed when they took the picture, but when she saw it now, it brought tears to her eyes, which is why she never risked glancing at it. She only carried it for luck.

She had changed, since then, and perhaps not necessarily for the better. She was colder, or seemed like it. She concentrated on work, except when she and Steve were alone, or sometimes with Natasha, too. Tony helped, when he was around. He reminded her of Howard Stark, which was nice in a way.

Sometimes, she thought she was _too_ different. That he wouldn't be in love with her if he met her now.

Then she remembered, that she was different because he loved her.

**Sigh, thanks for reading, following and reviewing! I love you all ducklings!**

**I'm struggling right now, for some reason, but I'll feel better tomorrow, I promise.**

**Today was just a bad day, and I wrote most of this at school.**


	13. Chapter 13

Steve and Alice walked into the museum, hiding among the crowds of people so they wouldn't be noticed as they walked towards the Howling Commandoes exhibit.

"_Symbols to the nation," _spoke the recorded voice, "_heroes to the world, the stories of Captain America and Miss America are ones of honor, bravery, and sacrifice."_

Steve wore a dark blue cap which partially hid his face, while Alice wore a pair of glasses and a beanie to hide herself.

"Look," Alice whispered, measuring herself with the picture of Steve pre-serum, making him laugh.

"I don't remember what it was like to have to tilt my head upwards to look at people," Steve commented.

A little boy wearing a Captain America shirt stared at them, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Steve placed a finger over his lips, and the boy nodded.

"_Captain America and his Howling Commandoes quickly earned their stripes," _the tape continued.

Alice turned, seeing the picture where they formed a triangle, Steve in the front, followed on one side by Alice and on the other by Bucky. She quickly turned around, looking at something else, only to stumble upon the section devoted completely to Bucky. She looked at him, prefering to read the text than keep seeing his face, which even now still made her struggle to stop herself from breaking down in tears.

"_Early childhood best friend with both Captain America and Miss America, Bucky Barnes and his two best friends were inseparable on both school yard, and battlefield. Barnes was the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country."_

While the record continued, pictures and videos flashed through a screen, of Bucky alone. Of Bucky and Steve. Of the three of them. And then the picture she'd seen so often when she'd first searched him on the internet, of both of them laughing, his arm wrapped around her.

"Come on," Steve wrapped an arm around her, "let's watch the video."

The record continued, mentioning Alice and their relationship. She wondered if people ever found it weird that the two of them were together, and it was mentioned in the history books. She did, because they had barely even had a chance to get together.

They walked into the room where they projected a video of Peggy, speaking about Steve's death. Or supposed death. Alice could barely pay attention. She wasn't used to seeing so many things that reminded her of her past, of life before they 'died'. Of Bucky.

**oOo**

"Is she your grandma?" Tony asked, walking into the room.

"My best friend," Alice smirked.

Tony was visiting, as he often did when he had time, and Alice was waiting for Steve outside of Peggy's room. He liked to visit her, but Alice found it too emotionally draining. Sometimes she dared herself to go in there, say hello, maybe give her a hug. But never much more than that, unlike Steve who stayed and talked to Peggy for hours at a time.

"I got you something," Tony stood up, getting the wrapped box he'd been carrying around.

"I was starting to wonder what that was for.." Alice mocked.

Out of it, Tony pulled a piece of metal that looked oddly like a breastplate. He showed it off to her.

"What is it?" she asked, taking it from him.

"Since you refuse to use a shield, and I doubt guns will suffice forever," he smirked, "I made you this.. or, got you this.. whatever, it's Asgardian. Thor helped."  
"Did Loki help?" she joked.

"He's not hot," Tony scolded.

"How do I use it?" she asked.

"Just wear it under your clothes," he responded, "it molds to your body. It's like a second skin, you'll barely feel it."

"Thank you," she said.

He smiled and sat back down, Alice tucking in the breastplate into her backpack. She couldn't feel any added weight, but when she tried to punch it, she had to cradle her hand and bite her lips to stop from crying.

"Let's go," Steve walked out of Peggy's room, and Alice and Tony followed him outside.

"Well, granny, grandpa," he said, "I gotta run. See you soon."

He took off in his car, leaving Alice and Steve on the street. Steve looked as he did everytime after seeing her. A part of him still loved her, but it was the memory of her that he loved the most. He looked tired, too. Worn out. Like butter spread over too much bread.

"Where are we going now?" Alice asked.

"To visit a friend," Steve replied, getting into the driver's seat.

"One friend a day isn't enough?"

**oOo**

They arrived at the VA while a young woman was speaking. Steve stood at the doorway, while Alice walked inside, taking a seat. She wanted to talk to them herself, it intrested her. She knew what it was like to try to adjust to a world like this after having grown used to the war.

"Some stuff we leave there, some stuff we bring back," Alice recognized the man speaking directing the meeting, she'd seen him talking to Steve, "it's our job to choose whether we want to carry a large suitcase, or a small bag. What's it gonna be?"

The meeting was closed, and everyone stood up and left pretty quickly, some milling around talking to each other.

"I'm Sam Wilson," Steve's friend said, walking up to her, "what are you doing here?"

She pointed at the doorway, where Steve stood. They both walked towards him.

"Look who it is," Sam smiled, "the running man."

"Caught the last few minutes," Steve replied, "it's pretty intense."

"Yeah, brother," Sam said, "we all got the same problems. Guilt, regret.."

"You lose someone?" Steve asked, concerned.

"My wingman, Riley," Sam explained, "flying on a night mission. Standard PJ. Rescue op. Nothing we hadn't done a thousand times."

"So what went wrong?" Alice asked.

"Our PG knocked Riley's dumbass out of the sky," Sam shook his head, "nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch."

Alice swallowed, biting her lips as she often did now, when she felt nervous or anxious.

"Sorry," Steve nodded.

He was always better with words, but Alice knew she should've said something too. Anything to try to make Sam feel better, even though she knew it wouldn't really make a difference.

"After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?" Sam continued.

"But you're happy now?" Steva asked, "back in the world?"

"Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero, so hell yeah," Sam smiled.

Alice chuckled.

"You thinking about getting out?" Sam asked both of them.

"No," Alice answered confidently.

What else could she do? Missions, working, it was what kept her busy. Being occupied meant less time left alone with her thoughts, which lately seemed to be working against her.

"I don't know," Steve smiled, "to be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did."

"Ultimate fighting?" Sam commented, making both Steve and Alice chuckle, "just a great idea, off the top of my head!"

"I don't think there would be a lot of fighting involved," Alice smirked.

"Seriously, you could do whatever you wanna do," Sam smiled.

Alice thought about it. What _did _she wanna do? In some part of her brain, she was tucking away any thought of thinking too far into the future, making any plans. She knew everything could change in an instant, and she didn't want to be the one who wasn't ready to react. Not this time.

"What makes you happy?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Steve shook his head, "my friends do, I suppose," he nodded towards Alice, "but I can't make a job out of her, can I?"

"I refuse to become a prostitute, if that's what you're thinking," Alice snapped.

"Why, would you rather be a stripper?"

"Possibly," she smirked.

**I'll try to post again today, this is what I already had written, sorry if it sucks..**

**Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, I think I might cry!**


	14. Chapter 14

Music was playing when they walked into the apartment building. Their neighbor, Kate, had curiously mentioned it, and they had heard it from outside the door. Steve decided, for safety, to enter through the window.

Alice entered through the bedroom window and Steve entered into the living room. The loud music was still playing, although it was a different song now. Alice grabbed a gun from under her pillow and walked towards the noise.

Her heartbeat quickly settled to a steady pace when she saw Nick Fury lounging in their couch, as he so often did. Steve walked in from the other side of the room, seemingly as relieved.

"I don't remember giving you a key," Steve dryly said.

"You really think I need one?" he sat up, groaning.

"You know, there's this thing called knocking, I'd love to teach you," Alice said.

"What a waste of time that would be," Fury replied, "my wife kicked me out."

"I didn't know you were married," Steve commented.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."

"I know, Nick," Steve sighed, "that's the problem."

Steve flipped on the light switch, just as Fury pulled out a phone and switched off the light. Alice looked around, noticing a few missplaced items. Fury's phone read 'EARS EVERYWHERE'.

The extra frame on the wall. The crooked panel on the floor. Turned over books. They could all be mistaked for everyday misplacements, but not when Fury had just uncovered so many secrets. Not when she knew, which meant she was compromised.

She strapped the gun to her waist cassually, adding a couple of knives while walking around the living room, pretending it was an everyday occurrence. Just in case.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash," Nick continued, 'SHIELD COMPROMISED' his phone read.

Alice knew this was all news for Steve, which is why she pretended to know nothing about it too.

"Who else knows about your wife?" Steve asked.

"Just my friends," Fury answered, while showing them his phone 'YOU AND ME' it read.

"Is that what we are?" Steve nodded.

"That's up to you."

Fury flashed his phone towards her 'HE'S HERE' it read.

There was a split second of silence, in which Alice considered not taking the gun from the top shelf, but then grabbed it, just as a huge boom sounded throughout the apartment, as the wall crashed down on top of Fury.

He groaned, laying on the ground. Steve dragged his body away from the window, and he handed him something.

"It's just us," he coughed, "friends.. don't trust anyone."

"Captain Rogers?" Kate called, entering the room with a gun.

Alice aimed hers at Kate.

"Stay where you are," Alice threatened.

"I'm Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D.," she explained, "I'm assigned to protect you."

"On whose order?" Alice barked.

"His," Kate sighed, seeing Fury's dead body.

"Well, we can't know for sure, can we?" Alice snapped.

"I'm from _SHIELD," _she swore, as if it should make a difference.

Kate began speaking into her radio, while Alice took Steve's hand and squeezed it twice, motioning towards the window with her eyes, where she could see someone running.

"_Do you have a twenty on the shooter?" _the man speaking on Kate's radio asked.

"Tell him I'm in pursuit," Steve said.

Alice ran towards the window, crashing through it and landing on the next building's roof. She had to admit, the super soldier serum came with quite some advantages, but the breastplate Stark had given her also helped.

She ran across the roof, sure she could hear Steve's footsteps following, and hoping for his sake that he was.

She heard a woman scream as she kicked the door out of it's hinges, running quickly towards the window at the end of the hall. She jumped out, landing safely, and aiming her gun at the shooter. Then she saw the arm.

It was made of metal, completely. A red star was on the shoulder and she knew instantly who it was.

Steve ran out behind her, throwing his shield at the man, who turned around and caught it with his metal arm, throwing it back to Steve, and sending him toppling with the impact.

When he stood up, the man was gone.

**oOo**

Natasha walked into the room where Steve and Alice were silently staring at the medics trying to save Nick Fury's body.

"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know," Steve replied.

A part of Alice refused to believe he could die. He was Nick Fury, for fuck's sake, he couldn't die!

"What do we know about the shooter?" Natasha asked.

"He's fast," Steve replied, "and strong."

"He outran both of you?"

"Bullets were no good," Alice explained, "Steve's shield wasn't either."

"He had a metal arm," Steve added.

Mariah Hill walked into the room, just as Alice got tired of waiting and stomped out of it. She couldn't take seeing a man like him so vulnerable. She heard the doctor's trying to restart his heart from outside, but chose not to see. _He could live_, she thought, _just as Coulson did. _Steve didn't know about Coulson yet, but he was sure to find out, with all the involvment he had around S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve walked out after her.

"He's gone," he whispered, "it didn't work."  
Alice nodded, seeing Agent Hill walk out of the room with tears in her eyes.

"The body's this way," she motioned.

Alice didn't know why she wanted to see it. Perhaps it could offer some closure, a sense of feeling like his life had truly ended, because it felt like it hadn't.

Natasha was staring at him, right next to the body, with her arms crossed. She was crying, and Alice wanted to go up to her, give her a hug, comfort her. But she couldn't. She could barely comfort herself when she wanted to, much less someone else. She would only end up saying the wrong thing, so Alice just stood a few steps behind, trying to catch the slightest movement that meant he could be alive, even though she knew he wasn't.

"They need to take him," Agent Hill whispered to Steve, who was leaning against the wall.

"Now?" Alice turned, facing her.

She nodded.

"Natasha," Steve gently said.

Natasha took her hand, placing it softly on his head. Alice swallowed, turning to face the window. Natasha stomped off angrily, and Steve following behind. Alice sighed and followed, knowing in this moment it would be best to stick with people she knew she could trust. People Fury trusted.

"Why was Fury in your apartment?" Natasha snapped.

"I don't know," Steve sighed.

"Captain," a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent called, "they want you back at S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Yeah, give me a second," he answered.

"They want you know," the man replied.

"That doesn't change anything," Alice snapped.

He nodded, taking a few steps back.

"You're a terrible liar," Natasha smirked at Steve.

"Practice on him," Alice whispered, walking off.

Natasha followed her.

"Do you know?" Natasha asked.

"I know as much as you do," Alice said.

"We both know who he trusted," Natasha whispered.

"Which means Steve is about to walk off with the wrong people."  
"There's nothing we can do about that without looking suspicious," Natasha said, "we have to wait. Then make a run for it."

"Let's get a head start," Alice smiled.

**It's 2:00 a.m. and I'm writing this instead of sleeping.**

**That should prove my love for you.**


	15. Chapter 15

When Alice opened her eyes, she heard a flute being played loudly from a nearby house.

"Thank you, Miss Blanchard," she muttered, until she saw Natasha entering the room with a tray of food and snapped back into reality.

"Whose Miss Blanchard?" Natasha asked.

"Inside joke with myself," Alice replied, standing up.

Natasha set the tray on the cheap wooden motel table before walking over to Alice's bedside. Now that Alice and Steve's apartment had been destroyed and Natasha's was compromised, they'd snuck off to a motel.

The tray Natasha had brought was full of fruit, two glasses of milk and pastries the motel offered.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s probably gonna turn against him today," Natasha said, biting into an apple.

"We need to find him as soon as he's out of there, pick him up and go," Alice responded.

"He'll be headed to the hospital, he left something there."

"A USB drive," Alice said, "Fury gave it to him."

Natasha nodded. Alice quickly showered, putting on tight black pants, a black v-neck, her black Dr. Martens Tony had gotten her for her birthday, and a brown leather jacket. Natasha was waiting, swinging the car keys around in a similar enough outfit.

"Okay, we look great, we're hot, I get it, let's go," Natasha smirked.

They walked out of the building and got into Alice's black Jeep which she kept in a car lot. It was for emergencies when she needed a car which no one would recognize.

"Let's find Steve," Alice smiled.

"Let's."

oOo

He entered the hospital, dressed in sweats and a boring blue cap. He walked quickly but as casually as he could over to the vending machine, looking for the USB he had left there. Instead, the whole rack was clean.

Natasha stood behind him, and he caught sight of her on the glass reflection. He turned around, quickly shoving her into the nearest room.

"Where is it?" he groaned.

"Safe," Alice snapped.

Steve turned to see her, clearly surprised.

"You're in on this?"

"Clearly," Alice rolled her eyes.

"Why did Fury give it to you?" Natasha snapped, interrupting.

"What's on it?" Steve asked, backing off from Natasha.

"I don't know," she snapped.

"Stop. lying," Steve said.

"She's not, Steve."  
"Why does it suddenly seem as if everyone knows more than I do?"

"I don't know, I only act like I know everything, Rogers," Natasha spoke.

"Fury sent the pirates to the ship, didn't he?"

"Well, it makes sense, he needed a way in."

"I'm not gonna ask you again-"

"We know who killed Fury," Alice snapped.

"Most of the inteligence community doesn't believe he exists," Natasha explained, "the ones that do call him the Winter Soldier."

"He's credited with over two dozen assasinations in the last fifty years," Alice smirked.

"So he's a ghost story," Steve said.

"So where we," Alice commented.

"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa, we lost control and went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer so he shot him," she lifted her shirt, revealing an angry red scar, "straight to me. Soviet's luck, no riffling. Bye, bye bikinis."

"Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now," Steve said dryly.

"Going after him is a dead end, I know, I've tried," she smirked.

"You've only ever tried alone," Alice commented.

"He's a ghost story," Natasha insisted, handing Steve the USB.

"Well, let's find out what the ghost wants," Steve said.

**oOo**

"First rule of being on the run is don't run, walk," Natasha instructed.

"If I run in these shoes they're gonna fall off," Steve replied.

Steve and Natasha were dressed in casual outfits, trying not to be noticed. Alice had only put on some sunglasses, and waited for them outside the store.

"Two beeps means come in," Natasha said, "three means run."

"Why would I run?"

"We might need someone on the outside if we get caught."  
"We'll have about nine minutes," Natasha said.

"Got it," Alice sat on a bank, taking out her phone and pretending to text while waiting for them to finish inside the computer and hardware store.

She noticed a suspicious looking man staring at her, but she knew S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't be here yet. It would take at least a few minutes before they arrived, and when they would they wouldn't wait around, they'd strike.

The minutes seemed like hours waiting outside, so she jammed her phone into her back pocket and looked around for someone to talk to, in case the man was S.H.I.E.L.D.

She noticed two girls and a guy walk out of the girl's bathroom and walked up to them.

"Hey, guys," she smiled.

"Why're you wearing sunglasses?" the guy asked.

"I'm blind, you dick," she snapped.

She turned around and the man was gone, so she turned back to her new friends.

"Well, nice meeting you," she smiled, and walked away, muttering "asshole.."

Steve and Natasha walked out of the store and Alice walked up to them.

"You find the location?" Alice asked.

"Yup," Natasha smirked.

"There's an attack team here," Steve whispered, "two behind, two across, two coming straight at us."  
"Take the stairs," Alice said.

They headed towards the electric stairs, but the men were too close.

"Shut up and put your arm around me, laugh at something I said," Natasha snapped.

Steve did as he was told, Alice laughing too. She hoped it looked as if she was the awkward best friend, because that would defenitely fool them.

They boarded the electric stairs going down, when Alice noticed Rumlow coming up.

"Kiss me," Natasha snapped, "Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable. Alice, kiss the guy behind you."

Alice turned to see a guy about her age, handsome enough to kiss. She smiled at him and whispered, "would you mind kissing me?"

"No," he phrased it like a question.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. The guy did a pretty good job, at least, and thanfully he didn't have garlic breath. She kissed him until she heard Natasha breath again and turned to see Steve and her had broken apart.

"Yo, can I have your number?" the guy asked, and Alice rolled her eyes walking off with Natasha and Steve.

"There's a different car waiting outside, I left it there two weeks ago," Natasha explained.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"For another mission," Natasha replied smartly.

"Hey," someone shouted, "hey!"

The guy Alice had kissed ran up to them, looking happy.

"Glad I caught you," he smiled.

"Well, I'm not," Alice smiled fakely, she thought she took Steve's arm but accidentaly grabbed Natasha's, "this is my girlfriend, she dared me to kiss a guy."  
"We're just so used to kissing girls!" Natasha giggled.

"Oh," his face dropped, "well, I totally dig it, as long as I can watch," he winked.

"Well, I totally dig it, as long as you don't mind me stabbing you," Alice smiled sweetly, before stalking off.

"Nice cover," Natasha smirked.

"Shut up," Alice smiled.

They got into the car, Steve driving, Alice sitting shotgun and Natasha in the back. They sped off quickly, right before the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stormed out of the mall angrily, snapping at each other.

**Okie-dokie, there you go.**

**Also, the breastplate Tony gave her will become more important later (for reasons that contain spoilers which means I won't mention them.. yet).**

**I love you guys, you all make me so so happy!**


	16. Chapter 16

"Martini," Alice smirked.

"That's not food," Natasha snapped from the backseat, her feet on Alice's armrest, and Alice's arm on her legs.

"Mayonaisse," Alice decided.

"Marshmallows," Natasha chose.

"Nuts," Steve smiled.

"Naranja," Alice smirked.

"En ingles!" Natasha laughed.

They were still in the car, driving towards the destination they had found on the USB when they hacked it, and they were bored enough to be playing games.

"Okay, I have a question," Natasha piped up, "and you do not have to answer, although if you don't I'll still know."

"What?" Steve got impatient.

"Was that your first kiss since 1945?"

Alice snorted, causing Natasha to burst out laughing. Long, boring car rides make the best of friends.

"No," Steve snapped, "I'm ninety-five, I'm old, not dead."

"Right," Alice nodded.

"Are you saying it was a bad kiss?" Steve asked.

"No, not at all just.. practice-" Natasha was cut off.

"I don't need practice," Steve snapped.  
"Sorry, Captain, I didn't realise they changed the phrase to 'serums make perfect'," Alice joked.

"I'm a good kisser," he snapped, "ask Peggy."

"You want me to ask a retired 95 year old if she thinks Captain America is a good kisser?" Alice arched an eyebrow.

Natasha burst out laughing in the backseat.

"I hate everyone," Steve muttered.

"I love you too," Alice smiled.

Moments like this, when no one else was around, and Alice smiled at him like that, he could almost believe she was still the same. But he knew she wasn't. She was colder, less reckless and more thoughtful. She was sadder, but also angrier.

**oOo**

"This camp is where we were trained," Steve said.

Alice's heart ached as she looked around, realising how many memories she had burried in here.

"Change much?" Natasha asked.

"A little," Steve replied.

"Or a lot…" Alice muttered.

"This is a dead end," Natasha sighed, "zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must've used a router to throw people off."

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunitions within fifty meters," Steve babbled, heading towards a building.

Steve smashed the lock open with his shield, and they went inside. Natasha flipped on the light switch, revealing an office-like room with the S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol on the far end.

"That's S.H.I.E.L.D," Natasha incredulously said.

"It's where it started," Steve commented.

They looked around, opening the door that lead to another room.

"That's Stark's father," Natasha mentioned, looking at the black and white picture of Howard Stark.

"Howard," Alice murmured.

"Sorry, what?" Natasha asked.

"His name was Howard Stark," Alice nodded.

She looked at the picture, at his face. He was certainly handsome, just as his son. She personally found Howard more likeable, looks-wise. She glanced at the other pictures of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., including Peggy's.

"Whose the girl?" Natasha asked.

Steve ignored her, turning away. Natasha looked strangely at the picture then at Alice, nodding.

"That's Peggy Carter," Alice said.

Steve was walking towards another part of the room, so Natasha and Alice followed him. He glanced strangely at a wall, before turning back to them.

"If you're already working in a secret office," he pushed the doors open, revealing another set of metal doors, "why do you need to hide the elevator?"

Natasha used her phone to figure out the code for the elevator lock, punching it in. The elevator dinged open, and they all walked in, before it started going down.

"Someone should provide with elevator music," Alice murmured, mostly to herself.

She had found being silly around Natasha and Steve provided a certain extent of entertainment. She liked it when people smiled, especially when people who didn't do it often did, like Natasha.

Steve started humming a usual elevator song, making Alice and Natasha smirk. The doors finally opened, revealing a dark room.

They walked in, the elevator doors closing behind them. Suddenly, the lights flashed on.

"This can't be the data point, this technology is ancient," Natasha shook her head, looking around.

"Look," Alice pointed out, seeing between all of the old equipment a new looking USB port.

Natasha inserted the USB into the port, and the machines all started spinning, before the screen bleeped on, and the camera zoomed in on them. Alice looked at it strangely, wondering if she should shoot it.

"_Initiate system?" _the computer asked, both out loud and in green block letters on the screen.

"_Yes," _Natasha typed in.

The machines started whirring around, and Alice grabbed her gun from her waist, holding it in her hand just in case.

"Shall we play a game?" Natasha joked, looking between Steve and Alice, "it's from a movie-"

"We saw it," Steve cut her off.

The machine powered on, showing a face printed in green.

"Greetings, Steven and Alice," the face said.

Alice shook her head, Steve looking confused.

"Romanoff, Natalia," the camara turned to her, she looked at it accusingly.

"This is some kind of recording," Natasha murmured.

"I am not a recording, fraulein" the machine spoke, "I may not be the man I was when they took me prisoner in 1945 but I _am."_

The machine echoed the last words, and Alice motioned for Steve to look at a picture. It was of Dr. Zola.

"You know this thing?" Natasha asked.

"Arnim Zola," Alice nodded.

"He was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull," Steve continued, "he's been dead for years."

"First correction, I am Swiss!" the machine snapped, "second… look around you, I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis, science could not save my body. My mind, however, that was worth saving. On two thousand feet of machines…" there was a pause before the image smirked, "you are standing on my brain."

"Is it just me or did more people than I expected survive?" Natasha asked, and Alice nodded.

"How did you get here?" Steve asked Zola.

The machine answered, as Alice started looking around, trying to find something that would dispute what the machine was saying.

"Hydra died with the Red Skull," Steve snapped, making Alice's attention come back to the conversation.

"Cut off one head," Zola said, "two more shall take it's place."

The image of Zola began splitting in pairs, filling the screen.

"Prove it," Steve snapped.

"Accessing archive," Zola said, playing a clip of the Red Skull, "war taight us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly, after the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded," a picture of Howard and Peggy was flashed.

Natasha gave Alice a look, and Alice wondered what she thought of her and Howard, even though she knew if she checked she would know they were never together.

"He looks hot, doesn't he?" Natasha teased.

Alice smiled. It was a good picture of him, after all. But she knew if she had ever felt any love for him, it had not been the type she had felt with Bucky. She was never _in _love with him.

"The new Hydra grew," Zola spoke, "a beautiful parasite _inside _S.H.I.E.L.D. For seventeen years, Hydra has been secretely on the inside. And when history did not cooperate.. history was changed."

"That's impossible," Natasha breathed, "S.H.I.E.L.D. would've stopped you."

"Accidents," Zola continued, showing the news article of Howard and his wife's death, "will happen," a picture of Nick Fury was flashed, "Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice it's freedom to gain it's security. Once the purification process is complete, Hydra's New World Order shall arrise. We won, Captain."  
Steve threw a punch at the screen, breaking it completely, bits of glass shattering and flying onto the desk.

"As I was saying," Zola reappeared on another screen.

"What's on this drive?" Steve snapped.

"Project Insight requieres insight… so I wrote an algorithm," Zola finished.

"What kind of algorithm?" Natasha snapped, "what does it do?"

"The answer to your question is fascinating," Zola commented, "unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it."  
They heard the doors closing on them, Steve threw his shield, but it was too late, and it bounced off.

"Guys, we got a bogie," Natasha said, "short range ballistic… thrity seconds tops."

"Who fired?" Alice asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.," Natasha winced.

"I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain," Zola said, "admit it, it's better this way."

"Take the drive," Alice instructed, and Natasha ripped it from the port, placing it in her pocket.

"We are, three of us," Zola finished, "out of time."

Steve ripped some of the grating off the floor, and jumped in, Alice and Natasha after him, just as the explosion rocked the place and everything went black.

**Hey, guys, so on the next chapter there will be a brief flashback to the battle of New York (because even though most people wanted me to skip it, there are still some who would prefer I go over it). It will be in Tony's POV and it will be amazeballs (I hope).**

**I'll try to have it up real soon (today or tomorrow).**

**Thank you for all the support!**


	17. Chapter 17

"You missed me?" Tony smirked into his incom, playing loud music into the ship Natasha was flying.

When they finally got Loki inside, and strapped him down onto a seat, he turned to look at who he was with.

Besides Natasha, there was Captain America, wearing his usual unform. He looked around excitedly for Miss America, knowing they were almost always together, and the only time he had seen her before had been from afar while she was on a mission on a cruise ship.

"I'm Tony Stark," he smiled when he saw her.

"You look like him," she murmured, then she realised she'd said it out loud and blushed, "sorry. I'm Alice Winston," she smiled.

"Oh!" his mouth curved into an _O _when he realised he'd just been hitting on the woman his father had once fallen in love with. If that wasn't strange enough, he didn't know what was.

Seeing her he realised why his father had liked her so much. Besides the obvious fact that she was gorgeous, she had something about her. Not in the way she acted or talked, but there was something in there.

He should've realised who it was by seeing her uniform, a female version of Captain America's, but he'd been distracted.

"You're gorgeous," he commented, smirking.

"I could be your mother," she snapped.

"Yes, but you chose not to be," he blurted.

She blushed and turned arount to face Loki, who was silently laughing.

"Shut up," she muttered.

Just then, thunder crackled, making Loki's laughter cease.

"Scared of a little lighting?" Alice smirked.  
"I'm not overly fond of what follows," he responded.

Something suddenly landed on the roof, leaving a huge dent which was almost impossible on any S.H.I.E.L.D. aircrafts.

The door opened, and a tall man who Nick Fury had talked about to to Steve and Alice walked in. She remembered he was from another universe, and owned a hammer, but she didn't know much more. The man took Loki, flying off with him.

"This bitch," Tony muttered, walking towards the raft

Tony was about to jump when Steve shouted.

"We need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan," he smirked, "attack."

Steve took a parachute, planning to go after him.

"Maybe you should sit this one out," Natasha adviced.

Steve ignored her and jumped off.

"That was Thor," Natasha explained, "he's from Asgard. God of Thunder."

"Would we consider him an ally?" Alice asked.

"Well, he's defintely not on Loki's side," Natasha commented, "they're brothers."

Alice nodded, and decided to sit down. After all, Tony and Steve could definetely take this guy, especially together.

They kept flying until Alice spotted Loki sitting alone on a cliff. She took the special handcuffs for him.

"I'm going after Loki, he's alone," Alice called out.

"Go ahead, I'll pick you up," Natasha answered.

Alice jumped off, only to realise she'd forgotten a parachute. The fall wasn't high enough to kill her, although the cold did bring back unwanted memories, even though she hadn't been the one to fall.

She sat next to Loki, who was smirking watching Thor and Tony fight.

"You want me to get you some popcorn?" Alice smirked.

"Popcorn? I only know of regular corn," Loki looked confused.

"Anyway," Alice laughed, "you enjoying the show?"

He extended his arms towards her, towards the handcuffs, instead of running like she expected, or tricking her. Although, this could be a trick.

She handcuffed him, and he smiled.

"Sooner or later, you'd have caught me anyway," he smirked.

"Probably later," she laughed.

"Aw," he sighed, as Steve appeared, evidently disapproving of the ongoing battle.

Tony was fighting up against Thor, angry at the fact that he had taken their prisoner, until Steve came up to them and broke them apart.

Natasha picked them all up, last of all Loki and Alice, and boarded them onto the ship that took them to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier.

"Well, it was an interesting way of meeting, wasn't it?" Tony smirked.

**oOo**

When Alice opened her eyes, at first all she saw was black. She uncurled her fingers and toes and thought of every part of her body, making sure they all responded. She then noticed the other two bodies pressed tightly against hers.

She heard dogs barking, snooping around, and the sound of boots against stones, pavement and gravel. A thin layer of rock dust covered her, and she wiped it as best as she could from her face, before turning slightly.

Steve and Natasha were huddled up, and that's when she remembered what had happened. Steve's shield covered them from the explosion, and now they needed to wake up before anyone noticed they were alive.

"Hey," she whispered, shaking both of them, "wake up."  
Steve groaned before opening his and looking around. His eyes widened when everything came back. Natasha was still unconcious, looking as if she'd been hit on the head.

He groaned, throwing as much rubble as he could off them with his shield. The two of them coughed and gagged, because of all the dust swirling around them. There were mountains of rubble, rocks and dirt, along with some fires strung around.

"You have to," Alice coughed, "you have to carry her."

Steve nodded, taking Natasha in his arms, as they surfaced from where they'd been hiding, only to see bright lights heading towards them.

Steve ducked back into the original hole, while Alice squirmed into the one next to it, which was even more cramped. She tried her hardest not to cough, her throat aching badly. But soon enough, the lights along with some soldiers passed, leaving them behind.

Alice sighed in relief, exiting the hole, just as Steve did, still carrying Natasha.

"Slap her," she muttered.

"What?" he exclaimed, "no, you slap her!"

"Oh, why because I'm the girl?"

He arched an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes and slapped her, making her eyes snap open, before she took hold of Alice's wrist, which Alice shook of harshly.

"Sorry," Natasha said, "force of habit."  
"'S okay," Alice nodded.

"Where could we go?" Natasha asked.

"There's always a motel, but with S.H.I.E.L.D. on the look for us, they'd find us in a second," Alice commented.

"What about a friends?" Steve asked.

"We don't have any friends who aren't S.H.I.E.L.D, or possibly Hydra now," Alice pointed out.

"I do," Steve smirked, "and he'll love to let us in."

**oOo**

The man who opened the door was the Sam Wilson, the same man she had met at the VA the other day with Steve. He was sweaty and wearing sports clothes, but looked nowhere near as bad as them.

"Hey man," he said to Steve.

"I'm sorry about this," Steve sighed, "we need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha added.

"Which might, for unknown reasons, make you let us in," Alice smiled.

"Not everyone," Sam smiled back, letting them in.

Alice was last to go in, turning to see if anyone was there. She saw no one but was sure she could feel the familiar weight of someone watching her. She shook it off and walked inside seeing the carton of orange juice laying on the kitchen table.

"Orange juice!" she ran towards it, hugging it, "you have no idea how much I've missed you, babe," she craddled it in her arms.

Sam handed her a cup, which she filled to the brim.

"Bottoms up," Natasha smirked.

Alice gulped it all down in one swing, sighing delightedly when she was done.

"Appreciate this," she shook the box at Sam, "always, okay? There is no stronger force in the universe than orange juice."  
Sam laughed and nodded, pointing them each to one of the two bathrooms he had. Alice waited for Natasha to finish before jumping in, and taking some clothes from the duffel she'd left in the car but now had back.

She put on black combat boots, along with black pants and a tight black tank top, deciding to put on the shirt after breakfast, since it was quite warm.

"When I first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., I thought I was going straight," she heard Natasha say, as soon as she exited the bathroom, "I guess I just traded the cage I was in for Hydra."

"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business," Steve nodded.

She sighed, smiling at him.

"I owe you," she turned to Alice, "both of you."

Alice shook her head, knowing she'd done nothing that would mean she owed her anything.

"It's okay," Steve smiled.

"If it was the other way around, I think I might've left you there," she looked down guiltily.

"If its any comfort," Alice smiled, "even after you said that, I still think you wouldn't."  
Alice walked out of the room, searching for more orange juice, even though she knew that it contained a lot of sugar, which was bad for her. What's the worst that could happen, she doubt she could get diabetis after the super soldier serum.

"I made breakfast," Sam told them, "if you guys eat that…"

They took their places around the table, biting into the different foods, including waffles

"Pierce," Steve decided, after Natasha asked a question.

"Great," Natasha sighed, "and he just so happens to be on the topmost level of the most secure building in the universe."

"Steve broke out," Alice muttered.

"Plus, he's not working alone," Steve mentioned, "they all have Hydra's red star."

"So does Jasper Sitwell," Natasha said.

"So the real question is how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnapped a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in broad daylight," Steve nodded.

"The answer is, you don't," Sam brought over a pile of files.

"What's this?" Steve asked.

"Call it a resume," Sam responded.

Alice took one of the papers, where a picture of a pair of metal wings was strapped to someone's back. On the next picture, there was a frontal shot, which showed it was Sam wearing the wings.

"They work?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Sam rolled his eyes.

"Do you still have them?" Alice asked.

"Something like that," Sam smiled.

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam," Steve shook his head, "you got out for a good reason."  
"Dude, I'm getting the chance to fight alongside with three of the Avengers, do you really think anyone's making me?" Sam asked rhetorically, "there's no better reason to get back in."

"Where can we get out hands on a pair of these?" Steve asked.

"The last ones are at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates," Sam sighed.

Natasha, Steve and Alice gave each other looks before nodding.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Alice smirked, before gulping down the last of the orange juice.

"I'm not gonna buy you anymore of that shit," Sam said, wide-eyed and terrified by her orange juice consumption levels. She drank more orange juice than an alcoholic drank vodka.

**oOo**

"Yes, sir?" Jared Sitwell asked on the other end of the line, believing he was talking to Alexander Pierce.

"Agent Sitwell, how was your lunch?" the other line asked, "I hear the crab cakes here are delicious."

Alice was standing around the corner, her gun ready in her hand, and she could barely hear the outlines of the conversation.

"Who is this?" she heard Agent Sitwell snap into the phone, clearly nervous.

She saw him turn to see Sam, who was sitting talking into a phone in a restaurant, and raised a glass at him.

She heard the signal, and trained her gun on his tie, making it's red light's reflection bounce of a window so it looked like it was really a gun pointed at him.

He walked around the corner, and Alice walked casually behind him, training the gun on his back.

"Know if you make one wrong move, you're dead," she whispered.

They got into the car and Natasha drove them over to a different building, Steve and both of them leading him to the roof.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve snapped, as soon as they arrived at the roof, kicking him down.

"Never heard of it," Sitwell lied, putting his glasses back on.

He began backing down, until his feet hit the edge and he almost fell off, but Steve caught him by the collar.

"Is this for me to actually believe you will throw me off, I'm not," Sitwell stuttered.

"You're right, it's not," Steve smoothed down his suit, "it's hers."  
Alice took a step forward, thrusting her foot onto his abdomen, pushing him off the roof with a swift kick as the man fell screaming to what could've and should've been his death.

"What about that girl from accounting?" Natasha suddenly asked, "Lil- Laura…"

"Lillian," Alice remembered.

"Yeah," Natasha nodded.

"Lip piercing right?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, she's cute," Natasha nodded.

"Yeah…" Steve said, "I'm not ready for that."

Sitwell came flying back, Sam using his giant metal wings to fly and depositing him back on the roof.

"Zola's algorithm is a program," Sitwell shouted, wincing away from them, "it chooses.. insights targets."

"What targets?" Steve snapped.

"You, the other secretary of defense, a high school valedictorian, I wouldn't know," Sitwell shook his head, "anyone whose a threat to Hydra. Now, or in the future."

Natasha gasped, turning to Steve in surprise.

"The future?" Steve asked, confused, "how could it know?"

"How could it not?" Sitwell laughed, "the twenty-first century is a digital book… and Zola taught Hydra how to read it."

"Perhaps it needs some comprehension classes," Alice snapped.

"Bank records, medical history," Sitwell said, "voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Hydra understands perfectly well."

"It doesn't look like it," Natasha shook her head.

"Zola's algorithm evaluates people's pasts… to determine their futures."  
"Someone's past _does not _determine their future," Alice snapped, and Natasha nodded.

"Oh, but it does…" Sitwell chuckles.

"What then?" Steve asks.

"Oh my god, Pierce is gonna kill me," Sitwell looked down, lost.

"What then?" Alice barked.

"Then the Insight helicarriers scratch people off the list," Sitwell came back, "a few million at a time."

**Next chapter… breaks my heart, destroys my soul and makes me want to donate both.**

**Spoiler: Someone's mask falls off.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Before we begin… as you might know: this is it. This is the chapter where we die.**

**So quick prayer sent out to everyone out there whose reading:**

**_Though I may walk through the valley of feels and fake deaths_**

**_I will fear no canons_**

**_For fanfics are with me_**

**_Their AUs and their OC's shall comfort me_**

**Amen. Good luck.**

**oOo**

"Octopus," Alice smiled, "and you do eat it, don't you dare say no!"

"Fine…" Natasha smirked, "oranges."

"Can I play?" Sitwell asked again, only for Natasha to punch his arm.

"No," she snapped.

"Oatmeal," Sitwell shouted, before the glass behind him broke and a hand grabbed him and threw him out of the car.

"Well, you did tell him not to play," Alice joked, already getting her gun, and checking just to make sure she was wearing her breastplate, which she was.

"Play time's over, boys," Natasha snapped.

They heard someone stepping over the roof of the car and Natasha grabbed Steve, shoving him down with her, while Alice cowered into the bottom of the seat, shooting at the roof back at the person who was now shooting her seat as well as Natasha and Steve's.

Sam roughly turned the car, making whoever it was fall off. A few feet in front of them stood the man with the metal arm, a mask covering his face. He stood directly in front of the car, fearless. The Winter Soldier.

"We're screwed," Natasha muttered.

A car crashed against theirs behind them, driving them straight towards him, before he jumped back onto their roof, breaking the front windshield and ripping the wheel off.

Alice shot at the roof, but he was already on the next car, closing in on them and making them crash onto the edge of the bridge, turning the car over.

"Hang on!" Steve shouted, wrapping his arms around the four of them, which wasn't exactly convenient and falling on top of the door below his shield onto the bridge's rough pavement.

The Winter Soldier walked towards them casually, taking a large gun from the man who had been driving the car behind him and shooting it at Steve's shield, which made him fall off, land onto a bus and turn over another one, making all the civilians scream.

Alice took a shot at him, but he had a better weapon so she had to hide behind a car. She and Natasha hid from him as best as they could, running behind the trashed car and shooting at him from the sides.

Alice jumped off the bridge, landing onto a convertible car, and bouncing off the plushy seats, before jumping off, Natasha running after her having used one of her strange weapons to jump.

"Wait," Alice snapped, using her arm to stop Natasha as she saw the man's shadow at the end of the bridge, holding what must've been a gun.

Natasha nodded at her, stepping back. Alice waited for the shadow to move, before stepping into the light and shooting at him with both of her guns, managing to break one of his lenses, which he furiously ripped off.

He jumped off the bridge, landing onto the car in front of her and she took a disconcerted step back as he jumped off it, walking towards her. Four more men jumped after him, with ropes, but quickly Sam shot down two of them from the bridge, thankfully.

She hid behind a vacated car, shooting the other two from her hiding spot while being shot herself, but at least she was covered. The bullets that hit above her abdomen and below her neckline didn't harm her, thanks to the Asgardian breastplate, but her arms were uncovered, starting at the shoulder, except for a thin black shirt.

"Stupid," she muttered, standing back up and shooting down the last man, excluding the Winter Soldier.

Steve walked out of the bus, running towards her, making the Winter Soldier turn his attention towards him, while two more men ran at her from behind.

She heard the Winter Soldier's bullets ricocheting off Steve's shield, leaving scratches in the paint. She shot down one of the men with a headshot, leaving him laying on a pool of his own blood, while the other one ran towards her, and she dropped her gun, using her leg to kick his face, the edge of her boot scratching his whole cheek, leaving it red and broken and bloody.

She kneed his stomach, breaking his knee with the heel of her foot, before grabbing her second gun from her belt and shooting him in the head.

She turned around, seeing Steve surrounded by Hydra soldiers and rushed towards him. The Winter Soldier took his shield, throwing it at a bus, where it dented in. He saw her and turned, and she ran towards him, jumping onto him and throwing him on the hood of a car, before he flipped her over.

She kicked his wrist as hard as she could, making him drop his gun. _At least I managed to get him unarmed_, she thought, just as he pulled out a knife on her, _or less armed.._

She jumped, shoving him off her, into a standing position as he tried to slash at her face, but instead cutting a deep gash right below her collar bones. She kicked him as hard as she could, but he grabbed her foot, twisting it and making her fall on her hands.

She did a back kick on him, before jumping up and grabbing her gun, aiming it at his head, which he quickly moved. She shot, but it skidded of his shoulder, the other one off his mask.

_His mask! _It ocurred to her it would be much easier to have him exposed if she ripped it off than if she tried getting any of his other clothes off, or shot the metal arm, which by now she knew wouldn't even get a scratch on it. If she could take off his mask, she could easily shoot him.

"Get out of the way!" she could hear Natasha shouting at civilians who were still around, "get out of the way!"

Steve was surrounded. She was really the only one fighting him right now, so she took out a knife from her belt and tried stabbing him with it, distracting him from what she really planned to do.

She slashed at his metal arm, and he ripped the knife from her grasp, trying to cut her, but she ducked at the last second, standing back up to kick him, but only managing to send him half a step back.

She punched him, right as he grabbed her fist, she used her other hand to rip his mas off, before he punched her across the face and send her flying into a car. Spots were blurring her vision, she blinked hard to open her eyes, but her vision was still dancing.

It all snapped right back into place as soon as he turned his head, his shoulder length hair a mess, flying around, but it was still him. Her heart jumped to her throat, her breath caught. Her stomach was a revolting mess, and she couldn't breathe or move. Her arms were shaking, and she had goosebumps all over, despite the heat.

"Bucky?" she crashed.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" he snapped.

Sam flew down, wearing his metal wings, just in time to send him crashing down. She started breathing, right before he turned back to her, giving her a strange look. He didn't recognize her, but there was something in his eyes, right before he shot the car behind her instead of her and disappeared.

Steve ran up to her, with his shield retrieved he looked confused.

"What was he-" he panted heavily, "Bucky…"

Alice shook her head, unable to speak. Everything felt too big or too small. Nothig made any sense. She was a mess on the inside.

A team of Hydra agents surrounded them, dressed as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including Rumlow. They made them get on their knees, which Alice's legs were thankful for, before aiming guns at them and shoving them into the back of a car where two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wearing masks were staring through them intently at them.

Alice still couldn't breath right.

"That was him, wasn't it?" Natasha asked.

"It was," Steve agreed, "he fought us… he never recognized me."

"He looked right at me," Alice whispered.

Steve shook his head, and shrugged at his handcuffs, which they both knew if they weren't there he'd be hugging her.

"He didn't even know me," she continued.

"How's that even possible, it was all like seventy years ago!" Sam exclaimed.

"Zola," Steve muttered, "Bucky's unit was captured and they expirimented on him."

"We saw him after that, though," Alice shook her head, "they must've found his… they weren't done until after we thought he was… dead."

"Whatever helped Bucky survive the fall," Steve added, "they must've found him."

"That's now your fault, though," Natasha said.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky," he said, "it was always us. Even before Alice started to talk to me, I had Bucky. He was always there. We," he motioned towards Alice and himself and further to the right, where Bucky would've been, "it was always us. Together. We were always with each other, no matter what."  
Sam noticed Natasha's wound and turned to the two S.H.I.E.L.D. Hydra agents.

"We need a doctor in here," they stared silently at him.

"If we don't get a doctor she'll bleed out," Steve snapped.

One of them took out a taser, but tased the other soldier instead of Sam, before taking her helmet off.

"That thing was squeezing my brain," Maria Hill groaned, throwing it on the floor, "who's this guy?" she asked, pointing at Sam.

"Sam," Steve introduced, "but you can call him Falcon."

**oOo**

_"__You know," Bucky smiled, "we haven't gone out in a long time."  
"What, like a date?" she joked._

_"__Yes, a date!" he exlaimed._

_She laughed and walked with him towards his car, knowing Steve was still recovering from the flu and couldn't come visit her at her job._

_"__This doesn't count?"_

_"__No," he laughed.  
"Fine, then," she smiled, "meet me at the circus this Friday. I'll be looking out for you, I'll wave when I see you."_

_"__It's a date," he smiled widely._

_Bucky walked into the circus, smiling excitedly. He was wearing one of his good shirts, looking around for Alice._

_"__Hey, Bucky!" he heard a shout, and turned to see her in a casual yellow dress._

_He smiled, heading towards her. It was different know that it was just them. This wasn't just hanging out, this was an actual date. She was smiling but he noticed something was off with her. Her smile looked thinner somehow, as if it were made of paper that would break at any moment with the first drop of water._

_"__Hey, Buck," Steve stood up, appearing behind Alice._

_Bucky looked confused, and Alice smiled a bit wider._

_"__You sure you won't get worse by coming here?" Bucky asked, concerned, sitting next to Alice._

_"__The doctor said he was fine," Alice shook it off, "we checked earlier."  
Bucky smiled. They sat through the show, and he noticed how thin her smiled seemed the whole time. Even when someone called Steve a third wheel and she snapped at him, her witty comebacks seemed half-hearted. Worn out._

_Bucky drove them both home, dropping Steve off first who looked at Alice before stepping off._

_"__Are you sure you don't wanna come over?"_

_"__My mom needs me," she said._

_He nodded and closed the door behind him._

_"__Alice?" Bucky asked softly, "are you alright?"_

_She nodded, biting her lip, before her eyes filled up with tears and she quickly shook her head._

_"__What happened?" he asked._

_He drove towards her house when she told him to, preferring not to make her uspet. As soon as she got out of the car, he followed._

_"__He left," her voice broke, "they left. Both of them."_

_"__Who did?"_

_"__Dad and Will," she cried._

_He wrapped his arms around her, and she cried into his chest._

_"__I'm fine, Bucky," she stepped back, "I can be left alone."_

_"__But you don't have to be," he wiped away a stray tear with his thumb._

_She had stopped crying, which felt good. She felt better after letting go of the fake smile and letting it all out._

_"__You don't have to be alone, because I'm with you," he promised, "'till the end of the line."_

**Ouch. Sorry.**

**BTW, to answer an anonymous review I don't like betas anymore because the two I've had before one of them didn't even check my stories, just put them on word and turned on spellcheck, and the other stole my ideas and posted them under her accounts on various websites.**

**I don't know much about the army, what I know is from movies, tv shows and my best friend who went to Afghanistan a few years back, but he doesn't even like to talk about it so… yeah.**

**Did this hurt? I cried. I feel like it hurt. Sorry if it hurt.**


	19. Chapter 19

They arrived at a place in the middle of nowhere with Maria Hill, where a man ran at them the second they walked in.

"She lost a pint of blood, maybe more," Maria motioned towards Natasha.

"Let me take her," the man responded.

"She'll want to see him first," Maria said.

They were all confused at that statement. See who? Of course, Alice's mind went to Bucky, but she shook those thoughts off. She couldn't spare to be thinking about him constantly, at any given chance. He hadn't really left her mind since she saw him… but it wasn't him. Not really.

Maria lead them to a room where Nick Fury was resting in bed, calmly. Alive. Natasha smiled and walked towards him, making him wake up.

"About damn time," he said.

He stood up, leaning on the bed heavily, and they all walked to another room, where the man that had welcomed them – if that counted as welcoming – tended to Natasha's wounds.

Fury was describing to an extent all of his wounds, but only Steve and Natasha were paying any attention. Alice cared about him, but knowing he was alive was enough. Something else was bothering her, making her feel nauseous and like she was about to cry.

"But they cut you open," Natasha interjected, "your heart stopped."

"I took something," he explained, "it slows down your heart rate to one beat per minute… Banner developed it for stress, it didn't work so well for him, but we found a better use for it."

"Why all the secrecy?" Steve snapped, "why not just tell us?"

"It needed to look real," Alice assumed, "the more people know a secret the less of a secret it is."

"Besides," Fury added, "I wasn't sure who to trust."

Natasha looked hurt at his comment, turning away for a few seconds.

"You should've trusted me," she whispered.

Alice excused herself, suddenly feeling tired of this. She couldn't be here, talking so casually taking everything so lightly after what had just happened. Her head felt like it was about to explode, and she could feel herself burning up. She breathed through her mouth, before slamming the door on her way out, leaning on a bench while breathing raggedly.

"Alice," Steve said, coming outside after her.

"Don't," she shook her head, puffing out another breath.

"We need to talk," he said.

"I-I can't-" she was breathing too hard, she couldn't speak.

Her mouth felt lazy, she didn't want to speak anymore. Breathing suddenly seemed like a hard enough task.

She slowed her breathing and sat down, running her hands through her hair. Steve was thinking too, or trying to. He was remembering details about Bucky, about how he reacted after his parents died. The first time he realised what a true friend he really was. The time realised he was truly with him, through thick and thin, no matter what. They were together till the end of the line.

And then he lost him, and he still had Alice. A sadder version of her, of course, one that didn't smile and laugh nearly as much, but it was her all the same. And they loved each other all the same.

It was supposed to be the three of them against the world, not against each other. This wasn't how it was meant to be.

"Steve," she finally spoke calmly, "if we can… we need to _try… _we need to try to save him."

"Alice-"

"No, listen to me," she begged, "if it comes to it, I'll… I'll do whatever it takes, Steve. But we need to try."

Steve nodded, letting out a deep breath, and seating next to her. They were staring into nothing, trying to clear their minds. That was what was best. A clear mind, that could think straight.

"Whoever he used to be," Sam walked up to them, "I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop."

Alice shook her head. When she thought it through, she knew she couldn't shoot him. She couldn't hurt him, now that she knew who he was. Who he was before outweighted the importance of who he was now, and she knew no matter what promises she made, it wouldn't change the fact that he was her priority now. He'd been living this way far too long. She'd been living this way far too long.

"What if he doesn't know you?" Sam asked.

"He will," Alice said softly, convincing both of them.

He had to. Even if they only had a brief flash of a moment truly together, they had been friends for way longer. If he couldn't remember being in love with her, at least he had to remember loving her. As a friend.

"Have everything ready to gear up," Steve nodded at both of them.

"You're gonna wear that?" Sam asked.

Alice smirked.

"No," Alice smirked, "if we're gonna fight a war we gotta wear our uniforms."

**oOo**

_Bzz, bzz, zap!_

He didn't even wince. He could feel the entirety of his arm, and yet, he acted as if nothing hurt when it did. He didn't even blink.

He was strapped to the chair, as if they were unsure of what he would do. They knew he would comply. He was their weapon, and he wouldn't run. He'd been taught not to. He just had to do the mission. As long as he stuck with what they wanted of him physically, mentally and professionally everything would go just how the wanted it to.

But something was nagging at him from the corner of his mind. The woman's face. Then the man's. They felt oddly familiar, as if he'd known them once. A long time ago.

Memories were flickering through his mind, things he wanted to forget. He saw them both in them, embedded along with other confusing images that made no sense. He saw her, and then he felt her, touching him, kissing him. Then he remembered cold, unbearable cold and someone picking him up after he fell. His arms. Both of them made of skin, not metal. _Barnes_. _Bucky_. _Steve_. _Alice_. _Hydra_. _Zola._

_"__Put him on ice," he instructed._

He snapped out when they electrocuted his arm again, pushing away the man holding the tool, the other doctor rushing towards him.

He was breathing heavily, sitting at the edge of his chair wondering what was wrong with him… why he was remembering. _Feeling. _

Another man walked into the room a few minutes later, taking off his glasses and placing him in an inner suit pocket, walking towards him.

"Mission report," he instructed.

He couldn't answer. He just stared blankly ahead, begging himself to remember. _Who was she? _She called him Bucky… _Who was he?_

"Mission report, now," he snapped.

He could barely hear him. It was al distant now, everything happening here. The same images kept flashing through his head, but he couldn't get anything else.

Suddenly, the man struck him across the face, harshly. He grunted.

"The woman on the bridge," his voice shook, "who was she?"

"You met him earlier this week at another assignment," he lied. His eyes darted quickly, avoiding eye contact. He was most certainly lying.

"What about him? The man who was with her," he asked, "who was he?"

"They work together, you met both of them," lie. Another lie.

"I knew them," he muttered.

In front of him, the man took a seat, pressing his lips in a thin line. He gasped, thinking he would hit him again.

"Your work has been a gift to mankid," the man said instead, "you shaped the century. And I need you to do it _one more time," _he knew it was a lie. Whenever they said it was just once more, it would happen a million times again. It never ended.

"The world is at a tipping point between order and chaos," the man continued, "tomorrow morning we're gonna give it a push… but, if you don't do your part, I can't do mine. And Hydra can't give the world the freedom it deserves."

He turned, his mouth slightly shaking.

"But I knew them," he pressed his lips together in frustration.

The man sighed and stood up, turning away from him.

"Prep him," he ordered, leaving him confused.

He didn't want to. He didn't want to forget more, he wanted to remember. The memories hurt, most of them did. But some of them almost made him feel… happy. He couldn't explain it, but he felt as if he were there he wouldn't be as miserable.

"He's been out of cryo for too long," one of the scientists complained.

"Then wipe him and start over," the man instructed.

He gritted his teeth, feeling tears coming on for some reason. He never cried. He never got angry. He wasn't supposed to. He was supposed to do his job, and done. That was it.

Two scientists pushed him back into the chair, and he didn't struggle. He knew it would be no good. He swallowed, licking his lips before opening his mouth for them to put the mouthguard in. His breathing quickened as they strapped his arm onto the chair with hard metal. He knew this was it. He shut his eyes tight, trying to ready himself for what he knew he would be feeling in a few secons. The pieces of metal morphed and wrapped around his head, before the pain started.

It was a thousand cracks across his head, across his mind. His head exploded over and over, waves of numbness combining with the harsh pain. He screamed out, the mouthguard preventing him from truly making much noise, making his hands into fists, before it all went dark.

**oOo**

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize," Fury shook his head, holding a picture of Alexander Pierce, "he said peace wasn't an achievment, but a responsibility."

He shook his head, throwing the picture into the table.

"See," he snapped, "it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop tha launch," Natasha said.

"I don't think the council is accepting my calls anymore," Fury rolled his eyes, opening a box with three chips in it.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

Alice studied them, concentrating on the lines. Concentrating on Fury's voice. On every little detail that involved the mission and not the soldier.

"Once the helicarriers reach 3,000 feet," Maria showed them a screen, "they'll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized."

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own," Fury explained.

Alice nodded, swinging her foot under the table until she hit Fury, who kicked her slightly, signaling for her to stop.

"Two won't cut it, we need to link all three for this to work," Maria added, "because if even one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra," Fury instructed, "and then maybe, just maybe, we can try to salvage-"

"We're not salvaging anything," Steve snapped, "we're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with this," Fury snapped.

"I think by this point the line between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. is too blurred to determine who was or wasn't involved," Alice commented.

"You gave me this mission," Steve said, "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised, you said so yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed."

"Why do you think we're meeting in this cave?" Fury asked sharply, "_I _noticed."

"How many payed the price before you did?" Steve snapped.

"Look, I didn't know about Barnes," Fury shook his head.

"Even if you had, would you have told us?"

"You-"

"You knew there was a Winter Soldier," Alice spoke up, "you didn't show me all the files, you said so yourself."  
"I didn't know it was him," Fury explained, "I couldn't keep that from you."

"Or would you have compertamentalized that too?" Steve asked, clearly referring to an earlier discussion, "S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, it all goes."

"He's right," Maria whispered, making Fury look at her confusedly.

Fury looked at everyone except Alice and Steve.

"Don't look at me," Sam said, "I do what they do, just slower."  
"Well," Fury sighed, chuckled, "looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

"Let's gear up," he smiled.

Sam clipped on his Falcon wings, while Natasha strapped weapons to different parts of her body and disguised herself. Alice and Steve put on their matching uniforms, stolen from the Smithsonian, and Alice wore her breastplate under it.

She strapped on two handguns to her belt, along with a couple of knives, some inside her boots and on hidden compartments around her body. Then she took a larger gun, strapping it to her back.

"You ready?" Steve asked.

Alice nodded.

"Let's go."

**I suck.**

**Also, I changed the order of some scenes on purpose, to make everything fit better, sorry if that bothers anyone.**


	20. Chapter 20

Alice had one of the chips they needed to put on the ships in her pocket, but she now needed to get onboard. Steve would take one and Sam would take the third one, while Natasha and Fury were doing their part which took place inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

They easily got in with the help of Maria Hill, who held a gun to everyone's head if they so much as stood between them and something they needed, and they got to the intercom that could announce messages through the whole building.

"Should I speak?" Steve asked, "maybe you should do it," he motioned towards Alice.

"No, it's fine," she said.

"Attention, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents," he clicked on the mic, "this is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me and my friends over the last few days.. some of you were even ordered to hunt us down."

He paused, taking a deep breath. This would destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. He was about to say so many things that he knew no one wanted to believe, but they had to. Every single agent had a right to know.

"And I think it's time you know the truth," he continued, "S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by Hydra. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The Strike and Insight crews are Hydra as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won't end there."

Steve handed the microphone to Alice, unsure of how to explain what came next.

"The helicarriers that are to be launched today, would make Hydra able to kill anyone that stands in their way," she spoke, "unless we stop them. We know we ask a lot of you, which is why we're asking. The price of freedom is high, it always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if we're the only ones, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

She clicked off the incom, placing it back on the desk.

"So when did you guys rehearse that?" Sam joked.

They ran to the helicarriers, Alice shooting everyone who aimed a gun at them, but trying to get their legs mostly. The less lives lost, the better. She knew most Hydra agent's way of thinking had been heavily influenced.

"How do we know the good guys from the bad guys?" Sam asked, panting heavily.

"If they shoot you, they're the bad guys," Steve replied.

Sam opened his wings, taking Alice with him, while Steve jumped down from the platform they stood in.

Sam flew around, dodging bullets as best as he could, while Alice shot down at the soldiers with her long-range guns. He flew them to the ground, and dropped her, as they shot Hydra agents down quickly, before he picked her back up.

"Alright, I'll leave you on that one," he pointed, "and then I'll get on this one."

He flew her there, now easily without bullets being thrown for him to dodge every second. He flew off after she landed on the roof, and jumped in through the top hatch, to see the clearly surprised faces of five or six agents in the room.

She kicked the captain first, on the neck, knocking him down. She took two of the mens arms, and snapped them. They were engineers, not fighters, they knew nothing of this and even small pains seemed big to them. Two other men cowered in the corners, and she knew they wouldn't interfere any longer, so she let them be.

It didn't matter what they did now, as long as she got the drive where it needed to be.

"Eight minutes," Maria reminded her through her headpiece.

"Got it," she muttered.

Three soldiers stood on the main bridge, blocking her way.

"Alright, let's get this over with," she smirked.

The first one didn't even have a gun, so she just punched his jaw, which made him stagger and lose his balance, as he fell over the edge of the bridge. The only one whose gun was in his hands shot at her, but she kicked his wrist, and it fell. She kneed him in the groin and bent his arm, making him fall after his friend The third one had been kicking at her the whole time, so she finally kicked back, making his legs collapse underneath him, and he fell of the edge.

"No!" he gasped, holding on to the railing.

"Why not?" she asked, starting to walk away.

"Please," he gasped, "they made us do it… it's not like we wanted to, it's not like… it's not like we had a choice."  
She clenched her jaw, swallowing hard. She turned back, pulling him over by the neck of his shirt.

"Stay out of my way," she grunted, jumping down, but grabbing on to the railing of the second bridge, from which she only needed to get down one more floor to where the chip was to be inserted.

She heard several specially loud explosions, and then she heard a ship land on top of the helicarrier.

"Shit," she muttered, looking down.

The next bridge and this one had a signficall distance between them, which meant she couldn't jump. She ran quickly towards the stairs, jumping between the steps, until she skipped one and landed on her face, her hands too busy holding her gun. The cut that stretched from below her collarbone to her shoulder ripped open, making blood start seeping out of it.

"Alice, we've got a problem," Maria urged.

"I just ripped open my cut," Alice groaned.  
"Believe me," Maria insisted, "this one's bigger."

She heard the thumping of footsteps above her, and ran out of the emerency stairs into the open. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the waves of pain exploding through her arm. If she could get across this bridge, she could just plug the device right in, and it would all be over. Sam had done his part, and Steve was almost done with his. She could easily get across a bridge with a few minor injuries and a wide open wound. She was stronger than that.

She exhaled and opened her eyes, to see someone standing there. He stared at her with his eyebrows furrowed, and this time, she wasn't taken by surprise.

"People are gonna die, Bucky," she tried.

He stared at her, seemingly unresponsive.

"I can't let that happen," she added.

He didn't react, and the fear finally kicked in. He really was far too gone to do anything, he really didn't care. He planned on going through with whatever Hydra had told him, no matter the cost.

"Please don't make me do this," her voice cracked, and his face twinged the slightest bit, but he didn't move, "I'm sorry, Bucky."

She tried shooting his leg, still not wanting to kill him, but he dodged the bullet and shot her stomach, which the Asgardian breastplate protected. She ran towards him, knowing if she could just get past him she could at least put in the drive, even if it cost her life. By this point, it seemed tiny compared to the cost of failing.

She stood a better chance in hand to hand combat, so she tried using the butt of her gun to hit his head, but he just took her elbow and twisted her around. It was the arm where the cut was, so she let out a small yelp of pain, before using her leg to kick his, and turning back around. She kicked his stomach, making him step back for a second in which she ran to the machine and inserted the code.

She felt a hand wrap around her arm, and twist her around and she kicked him again, but he threw her to the ground with her foot. She jumped up, punching his jaw before he took a knife and slashed her arm. She wrapped one hand around his arm, before taking the knife and kicking him, while holding it in front of her.

She pushed at him, wanting him to fall back into the bridge, but instead he fell over, hanging from one arm.

She quickly ran to the machine, placing the card in.

"It's in Alice, you need to get out of there _now," _Maria spoke into her ear, just as Bucky grabbed her from behind.

She shoved, until they both fell off the bridge onto the bottom floor of the helicarrier.

"Quickly, Alice," Steve reminded her, not knowing what was happening right now.  
"Something came up, I think I'm gonna be late," she snapped.

"Now that the chips have been activated you only have a few minutes at most," Maria reminded her.

"I'm _trying," _Alice barked, Bucky looking confusedly at her.

She flipped him over, wrapping an arm around his neck. What could she do? She couldn't very well leave him there to die, or kill him, because she knew there was a cure. She knew she could help him remember, and after she did, she could help him forget. Hydra would be a distant memory, and theirs would be the ones close to his heart.

"Fire now," Alice ordered.

"But-"

"Do it!"

"Alice, don't you dare," Steve threatened.

"If you don't do it, all of this was for nothing," she snapped.

She let go of his neck, sure he was unconcious, and tried to look for a way out. They were to far aboveground to jump, and no one was coming their way. If she could get to the roof she could use the ship he'd brought.

She could barely move, though. Her lip was cut open, and she had bruises in the unlikeliest of places, and the cut on her collarbone was killing her. She pulled her top down a little, wiping some blood with her hand, just as the ship began to shake and collapse in on itself, since the three helicarriers were now shooting each other.

Suddenly, he was behind her, pushing her down against the floor, which was already missing chunks and large pieces.

"Bucky," she choked, as he wrapped his arms around her neck, an angry yet confused look on his face.

The ship shook around them, and he fell of her, trapped beneath a piece of metal left from the floor. She shook her head, running to him and taking the metal.

"Why?" he whispered, mostly to himself.

"Push," she muttered, and he did.

She pulled him over, as the ship shook, making her butt her head into something. She was dizzy, and he was walking towards her, but she couldn't move. She couldn't react to the fact that he still didn't care, or remember. She staggered up, her top ripped exactly where her wound was, further exposing it.

"You know me," she tried.

"No, I don't!" he shouted, shoving her onto the floor.

He sat on her, his legs wrapped around her waist, and that's when the sarcastic ass of a brain she had decided to kick in, and joke about it. _Well the last time wasn't nearly so bloody. _She grunted, trying to shove him off her, but he didn't budge.

"Bucky," she whispered, "your name is Bucky. James Buchanan Barnes-"

"Shut up!" he punched her, which hurt more than it should, in more ways than it should.

"I'm not going to fight you," she gave up.

Tears streamed freely down her face now, making his eyebrows furrow.

"You're my friend," she breathed.

"You're my mission," he snapped.

She nodded and winced as he punched her again, covering up but not fighting anymore.

He cut her lip open, and made more bruises, she was sure. But she didn't fight him. She had done her part, and everyone was safe, and now that she knew that, she knew nothing was more important that Bucky.

He stopped for a second, staring at her, and she swore his eyes were teary, but it could've easily been the tears in her eyes fooling her. His arm dropped besides him, the metal dirty.

"Then finish it," she said, "because I'm with you… 'till the end of the line."

The ship crashed around them, raining down on them as she fell. She plummetted through the sky, and it felt like flying. She was free-falling to a certain death, and all she could think of was him. She hoped he'd be safe. Better.

_Steve will find him, _she reassured herself, _he'll remember. He'll be happy. He'll be fine._

The icy water snapped her thoughts out of her body, as she slowly sank down, her blood coloring the water around her, flowing freely from her every open wound. _The sea would cure them_, she hoped, _he'll cure them._

She was drowning, and her lungs were beginng for air, but she was losing conciousness quickly, and it barely even hurt anymore.

Her heart ached, and she felt as if she had left something incomplete. She wasn't quite done. Someone would have to finish what she started for her. Steve would have to make sure everything was right. She was dead already, the air in her lungs didn't matter anymore.

Just as everything was about to go dark, she felt his hands, then his arms. He was wrapped around her, and with her last bit of energy she kissed his neck, the nearest thing to her face, to her lips before finally blacking out.

This was not how she thought death would feel like.


	21. Chapter 21

When she opened her eyes, she was laying alone standed on a sandy strip of land.

"What the hell?" she groaned, sitting up.

Her uniform was covered in dry blood, and she knew she couldn't even try to return it now, they'd be better off with a cheap copy from e-bay. She was slightly damp, and her collarbone was completely exposed, revealing the angry red wound on it. She stood up, her legs shaky from the effort.

She looked around, trying to figure out where the nearest hospital would be, but behind her there were just a bunch of trees, and she knew she'd have to walk for at least a few miles. She leaned on trees for support as often as she could, resting every couple of yards. She tried using her phone, but it was broken. She had been carrying a Nokia, as Fury had recommended, but it was probably half charged and undamaged lying in the bottom of the ocean.

Ocean. It all snapped back, except for a tiny detail. How had she survived? There was no way anyone had found her, and she hadn't swam there, she was sure. Unless she didn't hallucinate Bucky being there… but why would he save her?

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The only weapon she had, in case she needed one was three knifes, one dagger dipped in poison and a buletless gun. Great.

She sighed and kept walking, until she found two men sitting on a log, roasting marshmallows despite the heat and the fact it was the middle of the day.

"Woah, sister," one of them turned to her, "are you fine? I mean your _fine, _but are you alright?"

She nodded, sitting down across the fire from them, but turning away from the heat. She knew they wouldn't recognize her, with her face all bruised and battered up, and the cuts all over her body.

"Do either of you have a phone?" she asked.

"I do," the other man replied, handing her an iPhone.

"Thanks," she took it, her voice was raspy, as if she'd shouted too much.

She dialed Steve's number, but he didn't pick up. _Idiot, _she thought, calling Natasha.

"What?" she snapped.

"It's me," Alice croaked, "Alice."  
"Oh," Natasha gasped, "oh, thank god," she laughed and sighed in relief.

"Can you pick me up?"

"Sure, don't worry I tracked the number, I'll be there in ten…" she paused, "make that five."

They hung up, and Alice handed the phone back to one of the men.

"Comic Con is in San Diego, though," one of them said.

"But dude, the fake wounds?" the other one smiled, "totally killing it."  
"Thanks," she chuckled.

Natasha was there shortly, just as the men had asked her if she smoked. She'd refused, knowing she couldn't get high because of the super serum, and would just feel shitty later.

"Jump right in," Natasha smirked.

She grunted as she stood up, walking over to the car and getting in.

"Music?" Natasha asked.

Alice nodded, and Natasha turned it on to the mix Alice and Steve had made with Tony's help some months ago. Everything felt as if it had happened a few hours ago or years ago. It was all either recent or felt surreal. Like a dream.

"How'd you end up here?" she asked.

"I don't know," Alice shrugged.

"You fell," Natasha muttered.  
"And then I woke up."

**oOo**

"You look even more beaten up than I do," Alice chuckled.

"You haven't let her look in a mirror, have you?" Steve asked Natasha and she shook her head laughing.

"I need to go," Natasha glanced at the clock on the hospital wall.

"Where?" Alice asked.

"Court," Natasha explained, taking her bag and grabbing what looked like a change of clothes from the hospital chair.

"They expect us to explain everything?" Steve asked.

"No, they expect _me_ to do it," Natasha said, "so I'm off. Saving your asses as usual," she winks and disappears out the door.

"The government got most of their intelligence from S.H.I.E.L.D.," Sam said, "they won't like the fact that it's gone."  
"It isn't gone," Alice responded.

"Hydra took over," Steve shook his head.  
"There's still us," Alice shrugged, "and Tony, Clint, Bruce and Natasha too. There's Fury, but he'll stay dead for a while at least."

"We lost most agents," Steve sadly replied.

"We still have Phil Coulson," Alice commented, "and when the world needs us, we'll be there. It's just a matter of time before some other hot alien dude decides they want to take over the planet."

"Loki isn't hot," Tony scolded, walking into the room.

"I meant the Dark Elves," Alice sarcastically replied.

"Sure you did," Tony smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked.

"We need to leave," Tony said, "before anyone who isn't as happy to see you guys shows up."

They exited the room, Alice wearing a new set of clothes Natasha had bought for her. She tied her hair into a ponytail and they exited the building, hiding the bandages beneath their jackets.

"We're meeting Fury," Steve commented, "at his supposed grave."

"I'll meet you there," Alice replied, "there's somewhere I need to go first."

"I'll drive you there," Tony smiled.

Sam and Steve left towards the cementery and Alice go into Tony's car, snapping on her seatbelt.

"Where to?"

"Starbucks, a few blocks down," Alice instructed, "as quickly as you can."

They drove in that direction, arriving in less than two minutes given Tony's driving skills.

"Wait here," Alice ordered, getting out of the car and sitting in the corner, with a perfect view of the table where she said she'd meet him.

He arrived, sitting down where they agreed to meet. After confirming he was alone, she sat in front of him.

"Would you like to order anything?" Alice asked, making him look up at her.

"Coffee," Coulson smiled, taking off his sunglasses, "black, four sugars."  
"Tell that to the bartender," Alice smiled.

"My team is outside," Coulson said, "they followed me. I pretended not to notice."

"Stark is outside," Alice chuckled, "he drove me here. I let him stay in the car."  
"So," he asked, "why did you want to meet?"

"Well, for starters, there's that thing with Hydra, of course," she dryly said, "and I missed you."

"I'm going to cry if you say that last bit again," he smiled.

"Alexander Pierce is dead," she said, "but not all Hydra agents are."

"I'm not even sure about all of my team," he confessed, then looked down nervously, "I heard about Bucky. I'm sorry."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about.."

"You're going after him," he concludes.

"Is there anything else I can do?"

"Leave it to other agents?" he shrugged.

She shakes her head.

"What I'm going to ask you to do is essentially breaking S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol," she comments.

"Well then, I will also be breaking Hydra protocol, so it's all good," he jokes.

"Everybody agrees we should get help from agents to find him, but I don't think it's a good idea," she confesses, "they'll lock him up, run tests, whatever. He needs someone to help him remember, not a bunch of strangers forcing him."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Say I'm on a mission with your team," she says, "when they find out I'm not, I'll have figured out how to avoid them."

"Okay," he nodds.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, sure, why not," he smiles, "I've already broken every rule, so why not one more?"

"Thank you," she stands, he follows.

"Do tell me when you find him, though," he asks.

"Of course," she smiles, hugging him sideways.

She exits the Starbucks, jokingly saluting the two people from his team standing there pretending to be civilians.

"How'd it go?" Tony asks.

"Fine," she smiles.

"Who did you meet?"

"An old friend."

**oOo**

"Goodbye, Natasha," Alice hugged her.

"It was nice getting to know you… better," Natasha smiled into her hair.

"Do call that nurse, Steve," Natasha smirked, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek, before walking off, "and be careful. You might not want to pull on that thread."

Steve nodded, but opened the folder he was holding in his hands, revealing a picture of Bucky in cryogenic sleep. Next to it, a black and white old one of him as a soldier.

"You're going after him," Sam acknowledged.

"You don't have to come with us," Steve said.

Alice bit her lip, guilty about lying to Steve. But she knew she had better chances of getting him to trust her alone than if everyone ganged up on him at the same time and overwhelmed him. Besides, Steve would want to be careful, he wouldn't take unnecessary risks. Alice didn't care, she wanted to just take every risk and find him, without worrying about hurting Steve or Sam in the process.

"I know," Sam nodded, "when do we start?"

Steve smiled.

"Actually," Alice lied, "I have another mission. You two can start searching DC and I'll be back before you know it, helping you with everything else."

"What mission?"

"Coulson asked me to help with his team," Alice said.

"Phil Coulson?" Sam asked, "didn't he die?"

"By now you should probably know no one really dies," Alice smirked, walking off, "do be careful, Steve."

"Aren't I always?" he replied, smiling slightly as she walked away.

She knew she would find him, she had to. Tony drove her to his rented apartment he had for when he stayed in DC, where she kept spare sets of clothes in case of an emergency like this. She grabbed her black combat boots, dark jeans, black tank top and leather jacket and redid her ponytail.

"See ya," Tony called.

"Sooner than you imagine," she smirked, exiting the apartment and hailing a cab.

**oOo**

He stared at himself, another version of him. James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky Barnes. She was there, too, and so was the man he'd seen with her. They were all there, together in different pictures.

She hadn't lied.

_It was real._

**Sorry for not updating the last few days, life's been hectic!**

**NEXT CHAPTER BUCKY REAPPEARS 3**

**I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading this story from the start it means a lot to me especially people who review it makes my day (especially when I check them at school during class and smile like an idiot).**

**Also, I'm considering writing a The Walking Dead fanfic because I've grown OBSESSED with that show, and I'd still write this one, let me know what you think.**

**Thank you all!**


	22. AN: Final Exams Notice

**Hello, readers! I'm truly sorry I haven't been updating but I have a lot of schoolwork to do and I have decided to continue this story after my final exams since I wouldn't be able to update anyway.**

**Don't worry, summer is coming and during summer I can update at least once a day, since I have a lot of time!**

**Thank you for your constant support and understanding, I am truly sorry!**

**I love you all, I promise I'm trying.**

**Andrea xx**


	23. Chapter 22

She caught sight of him on the other side of the airport gateway. She'd been following him all the way from DC and they'd arrived at Russia just a few minutes ago. She could tell he was inspecting the crowd for anyone following him. He'd noticed the constant shadow hanging from his shoulder.

He was wearing a blue hood over his head, and a green jacket over it, with jeans and boots. He looked rather normal, with gloves concealing both of his hands, covering the metal in one of them.

She grabbed her suitcase and was about to strut over to him, when she noticed he wasn't there anymore. She turned around to see him standing there. There were heavy bags under his eyes and a deep set frown.

"You said you knew me," he snapped.

She swallowed hardly. _I can't break down, _she thought, _I need to be strong for him. _She had to convince him to come back with her.

"I did," she nodded, "I do."

"I went somewhere…" he shook his head, "it's true. Im who you said I was. But I want to remember for myself."

"Listen, Bucky," his eye twitched when she said his name, "I can help you remember."  
"I know," he nodded, turning around, "but I don't remember… I don't- I don't remember. I need to remember for myself."  
"Why are you running?" she asked, "we want to help you, Bucky."

"I'm not running from anything," he snapped, "I'm trying to find something. Something that will help me remember."  
If there really was something that would help him, she'd want to find it too. But how? They would need to remind him, to show him who he was. Who he is. There was no other way.

"I need to go," his voice cracked slightly, "I'm sorry. I-I'll find you. After I remember."  
"Bucky-"

"No, listen," he said, "listen. I can't go back like this, I'm lost. I need to remember for myself."  
"And what makes you think wandering around will help?" she snapped.

"There's a cure."

"A cure?"

"An antidote, medicine, whatever you want to call it," he nodded, "I know where it is, I just need to find it. When I do, I will remember for myself."

She couldn't process this. They wouldn't need to remind him. He'd feel again what he'd once felt, he'd _know _it was true. It would all be true.

"Fine," she nodded, "but I'm coming with you."

**oOo**

"He's not anywhere in the country," Maria pointed at the computer.

"We've checked every camera, the only match which was a 96% left a few days ago," added Kate.

"Track him," Steve ordered.

"Of course, Captain," Maria nodded.

He walked over to Sam, who was eating a sandwich.

"She should've called by now," Steve sighed.  
"Natasha?"

"Alice," Steve shook his head.

"Give her time, she had somewhere to be," Sam shrugged.

"No, she's not like that," Steve remarked, "even on her most dangerous missions, she always calls. Something. She's hiding something."  
"You don't think-"

"I do," Steve nodded.

"Why would she look for him without you?" Sam reasoned.

"Maybe she thinks its best," he nodded, "or she thinks all of us together will be too much for him. Either way, I never would've gone without her, she probably did it for a good reason."

He hoped she had. And secretly, he hoped she found him and helped him. He wanted her to bring him back, so they could help him together. But she wasn't taking calls, answering messages or speaking to anyone.

Last she'd heard from her, was from Agent Coulson, who apparently was alive, when she met him, apparently for a second time.

He didn't know about the first, but he mentioned it, and he gave him a note from her. A note he still didn't understand.

_Not all deaths are final. Not all gods are immortal._

What the hell did that mean?

**Exams are still not over (this is actually study week, last week was project week), but I decided to pull my shit together and update.**

**I'm not sure if I'll be able to update again before summer but I'll try and also I might be starting an X-Men: First Class/ X:Men Days of Future Past fic, perhaps Eric/OC or Charles/OC or Eric/Charles? I don't know yet, but if I do, I'll start in summer.**

**Thanks to all of those still sticking around, I'll be back for good soon.**


End file.
